Knight in Shining Hair Gel
by Polly
Summary: Luke has a huge favour to ask Lorelai and Jess isn't making it any easier for her! Lorelai/Jess bonding with a little Luke and Jess thrown in. Chapter 7 up! Set in season 2. Angsty fluff.
1. Chapter 1

Knights in Shining Hair Gel

Standard Disclaimer applies

First off, thank you to Djinneya, Sailor-Lit, 5-STAR and Imperial Dragon for your reviews to the last part of Fire and Ice! It feels good to be able to say it is finally finished and I really appreciate everyone who stuck with it till the end

Just a short interlude with Jess, Luke and Lorelai, set in the same universe as _Fire and Ice_ and _Watching the Watchers_ but you don't necessarily need to have read those to understand this – just know that Jess and Lorelai have been building a slightly more affectionate relationship than they did in the series and that this story will be exploring that in a little more detail.

Chapter 1

April had started out as a somewhat dreary month. Ten days in and winter snow had given way to early spring drizzle. The heel on her trusted pair of empowering shoes had snapped as she had hurtled down the stairs that morning. Thanks to a week-long school trip to Washington State, her equally trusted daughter had neither been present to commiserate with, help her select a new pair or offer to drop her shoes into the menders on her way to Chilton. The pair of shoes that she had grabbed at the last minute now, in retrospect, made her look like an empowered hooker. She couldn't even imagine where they had come from.

Lorelai glanced down at her watch as the front door slammed shut behind her. Her potential clients were flying in from Norway in less than two hours with the budding prospect of a week-long conference on the table and she knew what that kind of business could mean for the Independence Inn. Suky, of course, would be having conniptions by now because the catering wouldn't be up to her impeccable standards and Michel would have alienated half of the serving staff with a few ill-placed remarks and this would have to be the day when she herself was running late.

She swore rather too loudly to herself then gave an embarrassed wave to the mailman as he passed her by with an odd look for her. "Hey there," she called. "It's okay – they let us out Monday to Wednesday on a day-release programme. I'm fine if I've had my Wheaties." The man shook his head as he hurried on to the next house.

Taking a few deep breaths, Lorelai took a moment to collect herself. The light rain actually made the air quite fresh and cool. It was invigorating and the promise of a warm day was always just within reach. When she opened her eyes again, the young woman once again reconsidered her decision to grab a coffee at Luke's. Loathe as she would normally be to skip her coffee and Danish, today was cutting it fine. But, she reasoned, not only would coffee fortify her for the day ahead but when Luke had spoken to her the previous day and actually asked her if she was coming by tomorrow morning, it had piqued her interest.

It could have just been a casual enquiry but the perceptive woman couldn't help but feel there was something more underlying the simple question. And she wanted to find out.

So, negotiating the slightly slippery sidewalk in wholly unsuitable heels, Lorelai hurried over to the diner. The breakfast crowd was steadily filling up the tables but she managed to find one free in the corner and flopped down into a waiting chair. No sooner had she done this when a cup of steaming coffee was placed in front of her, causing her to start.

She looked up in surprise to see Luke standing over her with a smile on his face. And it wasn't his usual 'mentally preparing himself for a Gilmore witty greeting' smile, it actually looked a little nervous.

"Hi," he greeted her, softly. "I didn't think you were going to make it."

Lorelai had just opened her mouth to reply that she had been thinking the same thing and that she really couldn't stay for anything longer than a coffee when Luke suddenly signalled to Caesar. Immediately a freshly baked pastry was brought to her and was set by her coffee cup while Luke handed her a menu.

"Have a Danish while you look at the menu," he suggested, "Specials are on the board. Where they usually are. Um, I'll be back to take your order in a minute."

"Actually, Luke…" she began but was soon talking to a retreating figure as her friend quickly wove his way to the counter, grabbed a coffee pot and began furiously re-filling empty coffee cups like the beverage was going out of fashion.

The young woman shook her head in confusion, her naturally suspicious and overly curious nature going into overdrive. There was, most definitely, some odd a-foot with her usually predictable friend. Deciding the Inn could afford to wait a few more minutes for her, Lorelai tucked her brown curls behind her ears and took a sip of her coffee while she waited for the mysterious Luke. Damn – he'd made it _exactly_ the way she liked it! She took a large bite of her Danish – baked to perfection. She closed her eyes as she savoured the heavenly delicacies, wondering what toll awaited her at the end of this self-indulgent pleasure. Indeed, the god of pastries demanded a weighty sacrifice and as for the goddess of Java? She shuddered to think.

Presently, Lorelai glanced up from her coffee when she heard a chair scraping away from her table and Luke seat himself opposite her. She blinked then smiled at him. "Hey there, stranger. Nice of you to come down to us mortals and join us." Her eyes held him fast in a question and from the way Luke was shifting nervously in his seat, Lorelai guessed he wasn't going to keep her hanging for long. Luke's eyes, unfortunately, had just fallen on her shoes. Immediately, Lorelai narrowed her eyes and growled:

"_Yes_, they're red. _Yes_, they're _that shade_ of red and _yes_, the heels really are _that_ high. I have nearly twisted my ankle three times this morning and my day is not shaping up to get any better so please, for the sake of our everlasting friendship, make no comment."

"Uh…right. Thanks for stopping by this morning," he began, rather awkwardly. She gave him a smile and a nod though his mannerisms were starting to make _her_ nervous, too.

"That's okay. But I can't stay long. Thank you for the delicious coffee and pastry though –they're my favourite."

He let out a short, quiet laugh. "You know I _had_ wondered." He cleared his throat and finally fixed her with a steady look. It felt like crunch time and she unconsciously held her breath. "Lorelai, I actually wanted to talk to you for a reason."

"Uh-huh." Her mind was starting to reel with the possibilities but she forced herself to bite her tongue and stay quiet.

Luke folded his hands together on the table looking for all the world like a man about to beg a loan from a bank manager. "I have to go away for a few days."

"You do? Where to?"

"Orlando. I need to sort out some of the stuff from my uncle's estate. I thought the people down there could deal with it but apparently not. I shouldn't be more than three or four days at the most."

"I'm sure you'll get it sorted out, Luke. But, uh, why do you need to talk to me?"

Her friend hesitated and took a deep breath. He was starting wring his hands too. Lorelai took discrete refuge behind her coffee cup, just in case a storm was heading her way. "I need to ask you a favour." Lorelai narrowed her eyes and steepled her fingers.

"You may proceed, Lukas though I must warn you that once in my debt, I may claim my boon at any time and in any place."

Luke winced. "Please don't mock – it may come to that."

Scoffing lightly, Lorelai waved away his unease with one hand. "Oh please, Luke. After all the things you've done for me and Rory over the years! Whatever it is, consider it done. What? Do you want me to keep an eye on the diner while you're gone? Carry out on the spot coffee inspections to make sure it's all up to standard? I will need an official badge, I have to warn you but other than that, we're good to go."

The young woman smiled warmly at Luke as she reached across the table to pat his hands.

"Actually," Luke began, then glanced about the diner quickly, "it wasn't the diner I was going to ask you to keep an eye on." He withdrew his hands gently from under hers and then waited. It took a good few seconds of blank staring and the distant clatter of coffee cups before Lorelai's eyes widened in surprise.

Luke's smile was painfully awkward. "I know!" he hastily cut in. "I know it's a lot to ask but I can't take him with me – he has school and everything and normally I wouldn't mind leaving him alone but he's still on so much medication from the hospital and although he's doing much better I just don't want to leave him entirely to his own devices for so long."

"Luke," Lorelai began, nervously, wondering how quickly a person could back-pedal without physically falling over.

"He wouldn't be any trouble!" Luke cut in but he was wincing even as the words left his mouth. "I promise, Lorelai, he's doing much better – you know he is. I just worry about him when he's not fully recovered. And he's still hobbling so there's only so much trouble he can actually get in to!"

"I know that, Luke, but…"

"And I'm not asking you to move in here or for him to stay with you. Not unless it was easier for you and you wanted it that way because you would be in charge. I mean, you say 'jump', he'll say 'how high?'"

"Luke it's just that…"

"Actually," Luke swept on, as if he hadn't heard her plaintive interruption, "he'd probably just laugh because he can barely manage the stairs, let alone jump but you know what I mean. But you would be lord and master – I'd make sure he knew that."

He watched, eyes imploring, as she took a steady breath and tried to smile. "Wow," she began, slowly, carefully trying to choose her words. "And while that prospect both excites and terrifies me…like rally racing or lion-taming…I just don't know if this is going to work, Luke."

A sharp pang of guilt stabbed her square in the chest as she watched her best friend's hopeful expression start to crumble. After all he'd done for her, all the times she'd snapped her fingers and he'd come running, now she was going to do this to him when he actually needed something from her.

Hastily, Lorelai did what came naturally when she was nervous: she kept talking. "It's not that I have anything against, Jess. I don't." Off Luke's dubious look she insisted more emphatically. "I really don't! I know we didn't get off to a great start but you also know I've grown fond of him over the last few months. But I just don't know if I'm the right person for the job."

Luke's incredulous expression made her pause, mid-ramble. "I would honestly like to know who else you think I _could_ leave him with?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but on scouting ahead with every scenario she came up with, they all ended in carnage, police reports and a suspiciously well-fertilised flower-bed in the coming years.

"Exactly!" Luke concluded. "Believe me, I hate imposing on you like this but I have no-one else to ask. I know Rory's away for the week so…"

"So? This is not like replacing one teenager with another, Luke! We're not going to fix each other's hair and make-up and sit up all night giving a mocking commentary on the Godfather II!"

"You could do," Luke cut in eagerly, "Jess _loves_ to mock! You just pick a topic and he'll be there."

With a frustrated sigh, Lorelai threw her hands up into the air but already Luke could sense that the tide was turning in his favour.

Still, he gently pressed the point home, taking her hands loosely in his own. "Apart from me, you're the only adult in this town that he trusts. Hell, you're the only adult who will give him the time of day! I know he'll listen to you because, though God knows I realise he doesn't show it, but he cares about what you say – you've helped him through some difficult times. I know the two of you can drive each other crazy sometimes, but it's only for a few days." He gave her hands a light squeeze. "Please. It's not for long."

Finally, Lorelai let out a heavy sigh and squeezed his fingers back. "Okay. You win. I'll watch him. But you'd better take a thorough inventory of him before you leave because I can't guarantee what condition I'll be returning him in."

Luke grinned in relief and leaned over the table to kiss her on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Lorelai! It's such a weight off my mind."

"I'll bet," she muttered, ruefully.

"My flight leaves this afternoon – if you could just stop by in the evening and see that he's okay, he's done his homework, taken his meds – that would be great." Sighing again, she gave him a small smile before taking another sip of her coffee.

"You'd better make me a list of what he needs to take and when just so the teenager and I are singing from the same hymn sheet." Luke nodded.

"I'll leave you the number for the school as well."

Lorelai, however, shook her head. "I know the number for the school, unless they've created a hot-line just for Jess." Luke winced.

"Not yet."

"Hey," a voice suddenly intruded on their conversation. Instantly, both adults drew apart and looked to the dark-haired teenager who had just emerged from behind the curtain. His school bag was slung over one shoulder and he stood, resting on his crutches and regarding both adults suspiciously and even though they were sure Jess couldn't have heard them, Lorelai still felt her face flushing.

"What's with the clandestine coffee rendezvous, Uncle Luke?"

"I thought you were going to school," Luke started, his tone a mixture of accusation and warning.

Jess just shrugged. "I'm getting there. It'll happen." But still Jess lingered, staring at the guilty parties. It was like he could _smell_ the suspicion in the air and it was making Lorelai a little nervous. Teenagers could be so damned perceptive when adults were talking about them.

"But seriously," Jess pressed, "why are you looking so shady?" Luke's back stiffened immediately and he rose to his feet in preparation for a show-down.

Lorelai felt like backing her chair up an inch or two. Jess and Luke show-downs could sometimes involve patrons and she wasn't taking any chances.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jess. We were just discussing the specials."

However, Jess' eyes suddenly trailed down to rest on her vibrantly red shoes and a smirk tugged up the corners of his mouth as his eyes twinkled devilishly. "Hers or yours?"

Luke sputtered once before flinging open the diner door and pointing a ramrod straight arm out into the street. "Go to school!" he barked and with another chuckle, Jess did so, moving much faster than most people assumed he could with his leg in plaster. As Luke resisted the urge to kick him while he passed by, he shut the door firmly behind him and swung back round to Lorelai, his face burning.

He winced at the tight-lipped, dangerous smile his friend was wearing and could only hope, as she rose from the table and threw her bag over her shoulder, that she wasn't reconsidering her offer of Jess-minding.

Her voice held an edge to it as she said, shortly: "I'll talk to you later, Luke. I have to get to work."

Luke nodded and quickly held the door open for her as she walked by. But as she moved, he gently caught her arm and pulled her close for a moment. "If it helps," he offered helplessly, "you have my permission to smack him."

Lorelai paused, carefully removed his hand from her arm and smiled tightly at Luke. "It might," she said, before patting his hand and releasing him.

* * *

A/N – Thanks for reading this far. There is a slight liberty taken with the GG timeline as I don't think the episode with Uncle Louis has been fitted in to exactly the right point in the year so I hope it doesn't bother people too much.

I'm not sure if anyone wants to read a Lorelai and Jess bonding story so I'd be curious to see what people think. There will, of course, be some Luke/Jess moments as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Knight in Shining Hair Gel – Chapter 2

Standard disclaimer applies.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or shown an interest in the first chapter. Hopefully chapter 3 won't be too long. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

"I can't believe you're doing this to me!"

"Believe, it Junior. And I can do a whole lot worse." Luke paused and prodded a firm finger into the middle of Jess' chest, pinning him to the wall behind him, "And if you give Lorelai _any_ grief, under _any_ circumstances while I'm gone then you will be regretting your unwise decisions to mouth off before I've even finished unpacking! Do I make myself clear?"

Fortunately, this seemed to have the desired effect on the teenager. Jess' shoulders slumped down and the scowl lessened to a somewhat less hostile degree. "Yes," he muttered, unhappily.

Still, Luke raised his chin with one finger and forced Jess to meet his own, hard expression. "I mean it, Jess. Lorelai is in charge and you will do what she says."

For a second, Jess' eyes widened in horror.

"_Anything_?"

Luke bit back a chuckle, briefly wondering if he should throw the boy to the wolves while he was away. But his heart softened and he shook his head. "Nothing I wouldn't tell you to do," he amended, causing Jess to sigh with relief.

"But I still don't see why I need anyone to watch me in the first place," Jess protested, more out of a need to whine than to rebel. He pushed himself away from Luke and hobbled on his crutches until he could lower himself onto the couch. "It's embarrassing, Luke. And it's my _friend's mother_!"

Luke raised an amused eyebrow as he finished fastening his bag. "I think Mrs. Kim's got a spare room. It's not too late to ask her if you want?"

He laughed as Jess hurled a cushion at him. "You're hilarious, Luke. But you're not the one who's going to have to live under the yolk of a mad woman!"

Luke rolled his eyes, picked the cushion up from the floor by the front door and threw it back at his nephew. "Suck it up, Jess!" he ordered. "It's for less than a week. I'm sure you'll live." Jess harrumphed just as a knock sounded at the door. Luke glanced at his watch, impressed. "Right on time," he remarked.

Jess picked up a book from the nearby table and opened it at a seemingly random place. He glued his eyes resolutely to the page. "I thought you said she wasn't coming till this evening," Jess muttered, accusingly.

"She'll need her own key to do that," Luke pointed out as he briefly paused at the door.

Jess shrugged. "_I_ could let her in."

At that, his uncle barked out a disbelieving laugh. "Yeah! And I'm sure you'd do that."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

His uncle smiled. "There's so much about our lives I find disturbing that I wouldn't even know where to start." Then, not wanting to leave his guest standing outside the door any longer, Luke opened it and grinned at Lorelai as she waited expectantly on the other side.

"Hey," he said by way of greeting. Then he surprised her slightly by stepping out to join her in the hallway and shutting the door behind him.

"What?" she asked, "is he still contagious?" Luke ignored her and instead pulled out a hand-written list which he carefully unfolded and held in-front of them both.

"Just a couple of things you need to know," he began in a low voice. Lorelai tried not to let her apprehension show. _Rory_ didn't come with a secret list. Rory came with accolades and applause and God-damn bow on top! Not for the last time, she wondered just what kind of hell she was letting herself in for.

"First," Luke started, "he _has_ a curfew. Don't let him tell you otherwise. It's eleven on week-nights but feel free to set it at whatever you think is appropriate." Lorelai nodded and briefly turned her thoughts to the fun she could actually have torturing the young man in her charge. "Also," Luke continued, still in hushed tones, "there _are no free mornings or afternoons _at school." Luke said this with such earnestness that she simply smiled and nodded, refraining from pointing out that it was only Luke who could ever have fallen for that line in the first place.

"And Lorelai?" Luke continued, "This one is very important. I am _not_ giving away _any_ of my clothes to charity. Please, don't let him near my wardrobe!" At that she couldn't quite bite back her laugh though she still nodded to show she understood.

Taking a deep breath, Lorelai slid the list from his hands, neatly folded it and put it in her pocket. "I understand Luke. You can trust me – everything's going to be fine. Is there anything else I need to know?" And for a second, Luke opened his mouth as if he could actually impart everything necessary to safely manoeuvre your way through a round of Jess. But such a notion was futile and foolish and they both knew it. So instead he shut his mouth and just shook his head.

"Okay then," Lorelai exclaimed suddenly with forced cheerfulness. "Maybe it's time I meet the little guy! I'm sure we'll get on swimmingly!" Luke's returning raised eyebrow was a mixture of hope and sarcasm but he nonetheless opened the door and held it open for her to step inside.

As Luke had fussed about for the last few minutes before his departure, checking for his wallet, hunting out his car keys, double-checking his number was on the fridge and that there was enough food to feed the starving masses crammed into the fridge and to various cupboards, Jess barely acknowledged Lorelai's presence, other than to give her a reluctant nod as she entered the room.

Eventually, Luke was ready to leave and after imparting another, heart-felt thank-you to Lorelai, who had now seated herself on the chair opposite Jess, he stabbed a final warning of "Behave!" to Jess before wrestling himself and his bag out of the door and shutting it behind him with his foot. For the following few seconds both Lorelai and Jess listened to the sounds of bumping, scraping and mild cursing as Luke and his bag made their less than graceful descent down the stairs.

And then there were two of them. Distinctly alone. The clock on the wall ticked by the following seconds, marking out the beginning of the next few days. Lorelai watched the teenager as the pretence of reading his book became too much for him, turning pages far too quickly to have actually read any of the printed words. His unease strangely had the opposite effect on her, helping to relax the sense of foreboding that had been brewing on her journey from work to Luke's.

"I'm sorry."

The apology was so quiet that, even in the otherwise silent room, Lorelai had to strain to hear it. Jess glanced up at her for a fraction of a second and she saw his eyes were honest and tinged with regret. And though a boy like Jess probably had a dozen things he could be apologising for at any one time, she was still momentarily baffled.

"For what?"

He took a deep breath before hurrying on, his eyes back to staring at his page. "For earlier," he clarified. "Before I left for school." And a look of remembrance came over her face as she recalled his pithy innuendos to Luke. Instantly, a wave of annoyance resurfaced inside her but it was quickly quashed by amusement.

"Oh," she drawled out. "You mean when you insinuated I was a prostitute with my devilishly red high-heeled shoes?" Her amusement piqued further when she watched the boy squirm uncomfortably at her words.

"Yeah," he admitted, head still down. "Sorry." As Lorelai watched him, her heart tweaked a little and she knew she couldn't stay mad at him for his typically Jess-like joke. Just when you thought you wanted to slap him, Jess' vulnerabilities and the rare glimpses of his sensitive side always melted the feeling away. So, after pretending to think about it, with a suitable stern expression schooled on her face, Lorelai then waved away his apology.

"Nah, you're forgiven. I had half the guests at work today wondering just what kind of room service the Inn offered, as well. Just don't do it again, okay?" Jess gave a small half-smile and nodded. "Alas," she continued, "without Rory here to help veto my outfits I can't guarantee there won't be any more wardrobe-malfunctions. I don't suppose you'd be any use on that front?"

"God, I hope not," Jess breathed quietly.

Lorelai laughed and pushed herself up from her chair. "Thought not. Well," she announced, obviously preparing to leave, "there's enough food and water here to keep you going for a couple of days and I saw some piles of cured wood by the stove."

Jess nodded as he awkwardly rose to his feet, too. "I'll send a telegram if I run in to any trouble." He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans as he waited, as politely as he knew how, for his minder to leave. In a moment of seriousness, Lorelai asked:

"You'll be okay moving around?" She tried hard not to nag him about using his crutches for standing. Jess gave a curt, slightly irritated nod. "And you're okay with your homework?" Lorelai prayed that he was as she knew she was in no position to offer help on that front. Rory had just got on with homework for as long as she'd been receiving it. Prompting a teenager to work was one of the few hurdles in life the young woman had never had to face though she recalled the first-hand experience all too well from her own misspent youth.

Fortunately, Jess nodded once more though Lorelai knew enough to check the completion of it at a later stage. But she didn't press it – her own house was beckoning to her at the end of a long day. "Right then. If you're all set for this evening then I'll try and pop back in the morning, okay?"

"Whatever." It was the most enthusiastic response she could hope for so Lorelai just grinned and patted him on the cheek.

"Don't worry, sweetie. We'll survive this. I'll see you later." Then, throwing him a quick wink over her shoulder, Lorelai left him to his own, hopefully problem-free devices.

* * *

When she woke the next morning, Lorelai rolled out of bed and was grateful to see the digital clock blink a much more reassuring time at her then it had the previous day. Seven a.m and she had plenty of time to choose a sensible outfit with matching accessories (Rory had helped her select matching items over the phone last night). She sang a little song to herself as she went through her morning ritual, secretly pleased that there was no fight to get in to the bathroom first and thought about the day ahead of her.

The Norwegians were impressed with the facilities of the Independence Inn and were eager to hear how she intended to meet the specifics of their requirements in the near future. And boy, had they been picky! Still, Lorelai knew they could do it. The only difficulty lay in the written presentation she had to submit to their representative, eloquently outlining their offer. Talking, she could do, hands down; putting it in writing? Not so much. She sucked with words, big time and practically came out in hives when she was forced to put pen to paper for anything more poetic than a grocery list.

Fortunately, her saviour came in the form of mild-mannered, six-foot-two Samuel Jenkins. The independent consultant was Stanford educated, had worked as a marketing advisor in some of the top businesses in the country and had offered his services as a personal favour to his good friend and owner of the Independence Inn, Mia and at a substantially reduced rate. The only thing missing was his halo.

If he sometimes stared at her a little too long round the conference table, she could cope with that, providing he saved their bacon with his golden words later on! Though as Lorelai applied her lipstick and fixed her hair neatly behind her neck she couldn't help but wish he would give her just a little more breathing room at times. He reminded her of an over-eager puppy, the way he always seemed to be there whenever she turned around.

Still, it was a small price to pay. Lorelai put her empty breakfast bowl in the sink, ready to rinse when she came home that evening and then eyed the empty Chinese take-out cartons by the trash. She mentally pushed that little chore aside too - the garbage men didn't come till Friday.

As the front door clicked shut behind her, Lorelai breathed in the fresh spring morning and savoured the feeling of the warm sun bathing her face. Today was going to be a good one, she decided as she set off for Luke's at a much more reasonable pace. While waving good morning to the neighbours as she walked, Lorelai turned her thoughts to the young man under her watch for the next few days. She hoped he hadn't done anything stupid in the few hours that he had been left alone for. Somehow, Lorelai didn't think he would have though the idea that his homework was done and dusted did not strike her as very likely. Inwardly, she felt a prickle of guilt creep its way inside her head.

Luke had asked her to check on Jess in the evening but, having already seen the boy in the afternoon, she hadn't seen the point. But her old friend was anxious about Jess' medication and probably about his school work, too. Not to worry – Lorelai would give it a once over before the start of the day.

She pushed open the diner door and glanced about. Caesar was helping to serve, as was a local girl who sometimes helped out when Luke was short-staffed, which wasn't often. She smiled at them both but couldn't see the reason for her visit. Since his leg was in plaster, Luke had banned Jess from the diner, more out of a hazard risk than anything else but she still would have expected to see him wolfing down his breakfast somewhere. Jess didn't cook for himself even under the best of circumstances.

"Hey," she called to Caesar. He looked over to her and gave a short wave. "Have you seen Jess this morning?" The frumpy man gave a frown then a shake of his head. Jess would never be a pleasant topic of conversation for him but he had at least started to admit that the teenager existed.

"Thanks," she called and then with a slight frown of her own, Lorelai fished out her key and headed behind the curtain by the counter and up to the apartment. Hopefully, Jess was just running late that morning. Trying to hoist a belligerent teenager out of bed and get him to school on time was not something she was looking forward to. A glance at her watch told her that if Jess' issues weren't sorted in thirty minutes then her well-timed morning was, once again, going to be put out.

Not for the first time, she found herself wondering if it wouldn't be a damned site simpler to move Jess into her house while Luke was away. It wasn't that she necessarily minded coming over to the diner but the morning _and_ evening visits could become quite cumbersome and it would be much easier to get Jess to school on time if he was up at the same time she was.

Mentally preparing herself for an argument of teenage-logic, or at the very least, a conversation that the boy would not agree with, Lorelai gave a light courtesy knock on the door, before opening it with her key.

"Hey, Jess," she called as she entered. "It's only me. You'd better get moving, kiddo, or you're going to be late." Looking around, the apartment seemed in good condition and very much as she had left it the previous afternoon. A glance to the boy's bed showed it empty with a mess of tangled sheets half hanging off the bed. The bathroom door was wide open and on closer inspection, revealed another empty room in the apartment.

Alarm bells began quietly chiming in her head. Maybe Caesar had just missed him coming downstairs? "Jess?" she called out again, though the apartment really wasn't big enough for the young man to not have heard her the first time. It was then, however, that she heard it: a very faint moan.

Immediately Lorelai followed the sound. She crossed the space quickly to the other side of Jess' bed and almost gasped when she saw him, lying sprawled on the floor, the blankets wrapped around his leg and his body half-twisted on the floor. She winced at the angle of his broken leg. "Jess," she gasped. Instantly kneeling by his side, she tried to straighten him up and settle him more comfortably, relieved when the boy showed signs of waking up properly.

With gentle pats to his face, Lorelai continued to coax a response out of him. "Come on, sweetie. Wake up. What on earth happened?" She helped him in to a half sitting position, resting his upper body against where she sat behind him. Finally, his eyes focused on her face.

"Lorelai?" he asked, confusion lacing his tone. Though relieved to hear him coherent, it did little to calm her nerves. Jess was pale. His eyes were dull and tired and a sheen of sweat glistened on his brow. Lorelai ran a soft hand over his head and felt Jess tremble beneath her touch.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened?"

Jess glanced down at his chest, humiliation at the position he had found himself in making it too much to even look at her. "Nothing," he mumbled, his breath coming out in short gasps.

"Nothing? Come on, honey – please be honest with me. Did you fall out of bed, or something?" A further embarrassed look away confirmed her suspicions and though she couldn't quite understand _how_ he had fallen or indeed why he was so put-out by it, Lorelai was nevertheless glad it was nothing more serious.

But then again, a good look at the boy's face made her rethink her assessment. The dark circles under his eyes were the first clue but it was the deep, haunted, fearful expression still lingering in his eyes that really stopped her in her tracks. If Lorelai didn't know better then she would suspect that nightmares regularly plagued the kid. He looked as though he'd barely slept a wink.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, softly and the lack of judgment in her tone and the quiet security of her voice stopped Jess from replying defensively. In fact, he didn't reply at all but his lips pressed together and a look of shame passed over his taut features. Gently, she placed a light kiss on the side of his head. "Happens to the best of us," she assured him, attempting a bright smile. "Well, sleeping on the floor is all well and good but we should probably get you up and moving. School and work wait for no man!"

Carefully, Lorelai shifted into a position where she could help Jess up but as she placed her hands under his arms, she noticed him tense, immediately. "Jess?" she asked, releasing the pressure on him. "What's the matter?" Jess' shaking was becoming more pronounced and his skin growing paler. Then it hit her. He was in pain. The boy was in agonising, crippling pain. She felt like such an idiot she could have slapped herself upside the head!

Here she was, prattling on about sleeping on the floor and bad sleeping habits and all the while, the kid was struggling just to sit up, let alone go prancing off to school. Biting back a scathing, self-deprecating remark, Lorelai spoke in calm, reassuring tones.

"Do you think anything's been damaged, Jess?" Jess bit his lip to prevent any further exclamations of pain escaping and gave his head a quick shake. "Is this pain normal?" Again, a curt nod. His medication! Had he taken it, she wondered? She tried to recall Luke's detailed instructions but frustratingly found she was drawing a blank. "Okay, honey. Where are your pain meds?" She gently ran a hand along the side of Jess' face – it was cold and clammy to the touch as he exerted all his energy into controlling the pain that was encompassing him.

Holding out a reasonably steady hand, Jess pointed to the kitchen counter on the other side of the room and Lorelai suddenly understood a little more of the problem. "I take it Luke normally gets your pills when you get like this?" She watched for a second as Jess hesitated, obviously unwilling to admit to any need for help but eventually, he nodded. Silently, she felt an alien stab of annoyance at her friend. Though she may have been a little remiss in her duties, she had studied Luke's list carefully and he never mentioned debilitating episodes of pain. If she'd known that, she never would have left him alone over night.

"Okay." Reaching up to the bed, she retrieved some pillows then ever so carefully eased Jess back until he was lying on the floor, resting securely on the pillows. Then she quickly made her way to the kitchen, double-checked the label on the bottle with the list of meds that Luke had given to her, filled a glass with water and returned to the prone teenager.

"Here you go," she said, supporting the back of Jess' head with one hand as she placed first one, then another pill in his shaking hand and helped him swallow both with the water that she held. Once taken, she eased him back down again, briefly wondering if she should try to move him to the bed before thinking better of it. Luke may have been able to move the boy without causing him any more pain but Lorelai highly doubted she could do the same. Unless it was an emergency, there was no way Jess would want anyone else witnessing his moment of weakness, either. As long as his leg was straight, he was well enough where he was.

A quick trip to the bathroom and then she returned with a damp washcloth and began to gently cleanse his face and neck. Her shoes were growing uncomfortable with her feet tucked underneath her so she prised them off and kicked them away. "How long will this take to work?" the young woman asked, referring to the pills and hoping Jess assumed the same. It appeared that he did.

"Not long," he murmured then lulled his head sideways against the pillows. Lorelai smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, calming him in to what looked like a more restful state. The kid looked exhausted. He'd probably been lying there since he fell, unable to get to his pills, unable to do anything other than wait till the pain subsided on its own. She felt like kicking herself even though, logically, she knew she couldn't have arrived much earlier than she did.

The muscles in the boy's face, arms and neck looked as though they were slowly starting to relax, his face easing back into the smooth canvas it should have been. "Just sleep for a while, Jess," Lorelai soothed as she pushed herself up off the floor. A look at her watch told her that best-laid plans were indeed due to go awry and hated the feeling of irritation that swept through her. It wasn't Jess' fault, for goodness sake and the poor kid was having a worse time of it than she was. Still, that didn't change the fact that she still had a very important deal to close. But all things in due course. As she stared at the sleeping teenager, Lorelai felt sure that nightmares were responsible for half the kid's problems and almost certainly caused the tossing and turning that tipped him out of bed in the first place. And there were plenty of things in his colourful past that could be the cause of them.

It was no good: she simply couldn't see a way around it. Jess was going to _have_ to come and stay with her while Luke was away. Pulling out her cell phone, she made a quiet call to the Inn, informing them she would be running a little late, a call to the school informing them the same for Jess and then made herself a well-earned cup of coffee from Luke's kitchen. As Lorelai sat on the couch, watching Jess peacefully sleeping, her mind began to calculate the best way to break the news to him once he awoke: he was going to be her new house-mate, like it or not.

* * *

That's it for now – thanks very much for reading. Events will start to heat-up in the next chapter :) Please let me know what you think if you have a second to review. Thanks again.


	3. Chapter 3

Knight in Shining Hair Gel – Chapter 3

Standard disclaimer applies.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed chapter 2. It really helps to motivate me I should say, in answer to a review question, I just want to assure people I have _no _intention of making Jess and Lorelai's relationship a romantic one. I know that age gap can make no difference in many adult relationships but to me, she'll always be a mother and he'll always be a kid and it would just be wrong!

By the way, there are some mentions to what Jess went through in my story _Fire and Ice_. It's not really important to the scene and hopefully it shouldn't spoil it for those who haven't read it.

* * *

"This is completely unnecessary," Jess groused and not for the first time as Lorelai put the car in park outside her house. Unclipping her seat-belt, she let the strap slither across her shoulder as it unwound and promptly hit the button to release Jess' as well.

"I told you, Jess," she insisted, "it's easier for me this way. I know you don't think it's worth my checking on you twice a day but Luke wanted this and it's more convenient if we're both in the same place." She shot him a plaintive look from across the car. "Look, just give it a fair chance, ok? I'm looking forward to corrupting you, just enough, before sending you back to Luke." Her imploring eyes seemed to be weakening him, as she had hoped for. He treated her to a final grunt of protest before sliding out of his seat and nudging open his door.

"You think you can corrupt me?" Jess asked as he followed Lorelai to her front door.

"What? Are you incorruptible? The Elliot Ness to my Capone?" She opened the door and went inside but turned back in time to see Jess smirk.

"Hardly. There's not a thing about corruption that I don't already know. I'm just curious to see what else you think you could teach me." He didn't smile but neither did she expect him to. Lorelai dumped Jess' bag just inside the door and pushed it shut.

"Ah, my young apprentice," she announced in a suitably eerie voice, spinning back round on one foot to face him. Jess rolled his eyes. "You've come here to complete your training." Then, giving him a wicked grin, Lorelai gently pushed past Jess, leaving him shaking his head as he reluctantly started to follow her to the couch.

"Leaving aside your dubious mix of Star Wars quotations…" he began.

"If you must."

"But how is this going to work?" Rather hesitantly, he eased himself down onto the couch as Lorelai did the same. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"Aha!" she announced, waving one finger with an air of triumphant flourish. "I've been giving that prospect much thought."

"Oh good," Jess said, without much enthusiasm, keeping his head down as he busied himself with studying his hands.

"Now I realise," she continued, "that coming from Luke's, you'll probably be wanting to continue with the quasi-camping, quasi-backpacking experience that you will have undoubtedly grown fond of during your first couple of months. Due to nostalgia for the good ol' days, you will be hoping, therefore, for perhaps a bedding roll made of woven reeds…"

"I've been secretly praying."

"_Or_," Lorelai said, "and this was my personal favourite, that you craft your _own_ bed with a collection of branches, twigs and bracken leaves that I found on the bonfire pile." Jess simply stared at her, sideways, with his own, unique blank-stare, neither giving nor taking an inch. She didn't need him to vocally participate and they both understood this.

"Alas," Lorelai sighed, briefly patting his leg. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but after consulting with top, _top_ specialists in Geneva and Prussia and a nurse's aid in Kazakhstan and that guy who looks like George Clooney who works in the Garden Centre, they've all come to the same conclusion: your leg just won't take the strain." She bowed her head and reached out a hand to squeeze Jess' fingers in comfort. With a resigned sigh, he pulled his hand away from hers but without any real force and waited for the conversation to play itself out.

"I know. Your silence speaks volumes my dear child. It was a shock to me, too. But you're going to have to sleep in a _proper bed_."

A look of fear suddenly passed across Jess' face. "I'm not sleeping in _Rory's_ room, am I?"

At that, Lorelai laughed. "No dear. My daughter's room is padlocked and bolted and so it shall remain." She watched the boy relax again. "No, you'll be in the guest room." At that, Jess _did_ raise an incredulous eyebrow, his expression saying more than his eloquent vocabulary could.

Seeing this, Lorelai instantly puffed up. "Yes, I _have_ a guest room." Still, he stared, saying nothing. "I _do_ have guests, Jess who, believe it or not, have stayed in this house longer than five minutes before running screaming for the door!" Jess simply turned away and nodded, silently, staring back at his hands. He was quickly finding that silence was the best defence against his uncle's slightly bizarre friend.

The erratic young woman harrumphed once more before sweeping to her feet. Jess glanced up in surprise and warily watched her flounce away, returning momentarily with a fresh towel. "_Some_ of my guests, even stayed the night!" she announced, indignantly and then threw the towel in his lap with over-exaggerated injury.

Jess pursed his lips and nodded, thoughtfully. "Did you unchain them in morning?" She bit the inside of her cheek, fighting hard to reign in her grin.

"I left them a saw," she announced, tossing her head, lightly. "The rest was up to them." She watched as Jess finally cracked a crooked grin and rewarded him with a bright smile of her own. "Are you saying I'm not a hospitable host?"

Jess just shook his head. "I'm not saying that."

"And why not?" she demanded, hands on hips.

The teenager shrugged. "Luke said I'm not allowed to insult through insinuation."

"He said that?"

Again, the one-shouldered shrug. "He insinuated it. With fewer words. And pointing."

Jess watched as his temporary guardian pretended to mull things over for a moment. "I see. Well, insinuation is half the battle in this place. My child, you have my permission to insinuate for as long as you reside under this roof." Again, Jess said nothing but his half smile said enough.

"I guess I'd better unpack then," he said.

"I've already put your bag in your room. It's just across the hall from the bathroom. You'll know it because…"

"My bag will be in it?"

"That works. I'll remove the bloody cross from your door, later. Dinner will be in about an hour."

Jess nodded, understandingly. "They don't start delivering till six." Lorelai just grinned at him.

"You need a hand up the stairs?" she called but Jess was already slowly disappearing towards his room.

* * *

"Green things?"

"Peppers, yes. Spinach, no."

Lorelai thought about his answer for a second as she took another bite from her slice of pizza. "Agree. Your turn."

"Fish?"

Her face contorted around her chewing in such a way that Jess couldn't help but smile. "Merciful Elvis, no! Nothing that comes out of the sea! Not on a pizza." She waited as Jess took a sip from his can of soda. "C'mon!" She nagged, impatiently. "You know the rules: agree or disagree? There's a five-second limit."

"Since when?"

"Since now. Stop procrastinating."

"I'm not procrastinating," Jess insisted. "Your answer held many variables. After all, we _all_ came from the sea at some point – how encompassing are we willing to be?" Lorelai paused mid-bite and she held her pizza dangling in the air for a moment.

"That's a good point. By that definition, _all_ meaty goodness great and small originated from the sea and I wouldn't be able to have _anything_ on my pizza!" Her wide-eyed horror gave way to a sudden gasp and she whispered: "Do you think that includes…_kung pao chicken_?!"

Across the table from her, Jess slowly chewed and swallowed his meal as considered her question. "No," he eventually answered, looking at her with a steady resolve. "Kung pao chicken originated in a small cave in Western China during the Ming dynasty."

She put her hand to her heart. "You're sure?" He nodded. "Was that _before_ the chicken and the egg?"

"Along side it. Like Homo sapiens and Neanderthals."

"_Ten minutes_!" Lorelai suddenly exclaimed as she checked her watch. "See? I told you, you could do it – ten minutes of conversation and we both survived it." She chuckled as Jess let out a huge sigh of relief and visibly slumped down in his chair. "Are you okay, Jess? Do you need to lie down?" Her mockingly concerned tone riled him just as she knew it would.

The teenager struggled to sit upright and shot her an accusatory glare. "Conversations with _you_ are exhausting!" He absently started picking apart another slice of pizza and Lorelai was beginning to notice that more of it was being shredded on the plate than was ending up in his stomach. First-night anxiety maybe as she knew the teenager usually had a good appetite. He _did_ look tired but that was probably more to do with the lack of sleep from the night before. He'd made it in to school just before midday but he could probably have done with another hour or so to sleep. Never mind – all things considered, it meant he should sleep well that night.

Jess had already been more sociable than she had anticipated tonight but Lorelai felt confident enough that the kid wouldn't balk if she tried to push for a little more. It wasn't as though he could storm out quite as easily as he used to do with his uncle, either.

"So what are your conversations with Luke like?"

Jess raised an eyebrow. "You mean like at dinner and stuff?"

"Yeah. What do you guys talk about?" She put down her pizza slice and wiped her fingers on her napkin as she waited for him to speak.

The boy shrugged, looking just a little confused. "I don't know," he began awkwardly. "He talks…and I shut up while he does it."

She stared at him, obviously waiting for Jess to continue. When he didn't, she waved an encouraging hand. "Is that it?" Jess sighed and glanced down at the table. Her probing was starting to get irritating as he wasn't sure how to answer her without becoming insulting.

"No. Sometimes…_I_ talk and _he_ shuts up." He looked at her expectant expression, feeling helpless. "What else do you want?" Sensing his building frustration and not wanting to have a wound-up Jess trapped in her home for the night, Lorelai decided to go a little easier on him.

"Nothing, sweetie. If that works for you two – that's great. I can't help thinking it just sounds a little _less_ like a conversation and a little _more_ like…well…consecutive monologues." Jess scowled at her and slunk back in his chair again, eyes going back to his plate. "I'm just saying, have you ever tried a different approach?"

"Like _what_?" he mumbled.

"Like…how was your day?"

But Jess instantly shook his head. "No way."

"It's a classic!" she protested.

"Exactly. Way too Waltons. He'd never buy it." He screwed up his napkin and tossed it down by his plate.

On seeing that the teenager had eaten as much as he was likely to, she rose to her feet and began to clear the plates on to the side. "Oh come on, John-Boy!" she teased. "Give it a go. Go on – try it on me." That Jess desperately wanted to get up from the table and walk away from her was evident. That he didn't actually go, spoke of something else – that despite his best efforts, Jess could never actually make himself behave as awfully as he wanted to. There was that tiny spark of decency that he couldn't quite extinguish.

"I'll show you how it's done," she announced as she rinsed the plates under the faucet. "_How was your day, Jess_?" The boy sighed, hard and began to prod absently at his leg. But ignoring her was ultimately futile. "I turned up. They talked. I listened. Mostly."

"Good," she encouraged. "Now _you_ try." For a long moment she watched Jess roll his eyes, fold his arms and studiously look anywhere but at her. However, just as she was about to give up on him, Jess surprised her.

"Okay." Then, in an overly-enthusiastic voice: "_How was your day_?"

"Perfect!" she beamed. "My day was fine, Jess. Thanks for asking." As she came back with a tub of ice-cream and two bowls, Lorelai began to fill in her reluctant companion on all the ins and outs of the Norwegians, of Samuel Jenkins and of life in general at the Independence Inn. Jess picked at his ice-cream in silence, content to let her talk and simply nod and grunt in the right places. She didn't press him for any more and for that, Jess was grateful.

"Hey."

He glanced up suddenly, clearly startled. His surprise was the answer to her unspoken question.

"You about done with the ice-cream slushie?" Jess glanced down at his bowl and gave a small wince at the mostly uneaten dessert that had been reduced to goo by his endlessly swirling spoon. Would she be annoyed at the waste? Jess suddenly realised that that could be construed as rudeness or her personal bugbear of ingratitude and it honestly hadn't been his intention to annoy her with it.

Fortunately, on glancing quickly back at her expression, she didn't seem offended. So he just shrugged. "I guess."

Lorelai pulled his bowl towards her so that she could clear. But she didn't get up from the table. Instead, the young woman studied him with a careful eye, causing Jess to squirm a little in his seat. "You seem miles away, Jess. Is everything okay?"

Jess nodded but didn't look up. She gave a faint smile at his gesture but still made no move to go. "You still tired?" His unease began to build but he managed a reply this time.

"A little. I guess." Inwardly, his pulse was starting to quicken and his need to fidget increased. It was hard enough discussing personal matters with Luke, much less Lorelai and she was getting closer to the mark than he assumed she would in the short time he'd been there. For a second, Jess realised that maybe this was a skill that most mothers possessed. Just not his own.

"Jess," she began and there was a subtle shift in the tone of her voice that Jess wasn't sure he liked. His own mother had only three tones: angry, casual and depressed. However, the young man suspected this was one of those 'other mother' tones that he wasn't prepared for. "I'd like to talk to you for a minute about this morning." At that she could see him rise to go – the topic clearly one he did not wish to discuss. His jaw was set and hard, his eyes already distant and he was already mumbling something barely coherent as needing to do something before he'd even finished pushing himself up from the table.

"Wait a second, Jess." Lorelai insisted, reaching out and quickly placing a hand on his arm. "It's important. I promise I'm not going to pry but I need to know a few things. You _are_ my responsibility, sweetie. " Irritably, Jess glanced down at the hand on his arm and gently but firmly shrugged it off.

"I _have to go_," he insisted more vocally. Then he swiped up his crutches from where they rested against the kitchen wall and turned to leave.

"Jess Mariano!" her voice rang out. "Sit your butt back down in that seat. We are _going_ to have this conversation and I would appreciate your attention. _Now_." Jess' hands gripped the handles of his crutches more tightly and he shot Lorelai a very sour look. Lorelai tried hard not to visibly hold her breath as she waited, an expectant expression on her face while Jess came to his own conclusions. Her eyes held him fast as he looked at her but they didn't give him an inch. Finally, Jess rolled his eyes dramatically and sunk back down in his chair, letting his crutches fall back carelessly against the wall.

His fingers drummed the table-top, waiting for her to begin. Having made no point of winning, Lorelai re-seated herself opposite him. "Thank you. I know you don't like talking about it and I'll be as quick as I can but that pain you were in this morning…" She pretended not to notice as he winced at the mention of his weaknesses. "Does it happen often?"

For a few seconds, the clock ticked by on the wall as Jess ground his teeth and tried to look anywhere than at his interfering, temporary mother-figure. Lorelai waited for him, patiently.

"Sometimes," he allowed, eventually.

"Is it the bone?" Lorelai asked, gently. She didn't really expect him to answer so it surprised her when he did.

"Sometimes. But it's mainly the muscle." He couldn't look at her and as she studied his face, his shame was so clearly evident it made her both sad and furious to see it there. Reminders of what he'd had to suffer through came flooding back to her. The boy had been skewered through the leg for pity's sake but only felt shame at his perceived inadequacy to deal with it. But she wasn't going to fix him in one night and this wasn't the time to get in to it.

"Okay. Let's keep the pills by your bed with a bottle of water – just in case. But if you need anything in the night, just holler." Jess nodded but they both knew he had no intention to do anything of the sort.

For a second, she wanted to ask him about his dreams. But on seeing his guarded expression, Lorelai knew that was just a little too personal for tonight. "Okay," she repeated, quietly. "You're supposed to take your pills after food and I guess we can say you ate enough tonight to qualify." Jess tried hard not to roll his eyes again. At that moment, a shrill ringing sound made them both start.

"It's not me," Jess said automatically.

"Damn," Lorelai swore softly. "Hold on there a second, Jess. I'll be right back with your meds." Then she darted up from her chair and ran to the hall table where her cell-phone lay charging. Its persistent ringing was getting on Jess' nerves and he was very glad when she finally flipped it open. As he listened to her one-sided conversation and watched her dig around in a plastic bag for his different bottles, Jess took a moment to wonder at the strange conflict of feelings inside of him.

There was no denying that a large part of him felt annoyed and resentful that he was being made to talk about _anything_ he didn't want to. Liz's boyfriends had never so much told him_ what do_ as told him_ what they thought of him_ and in no uncertain terms. He just had to learn what to do in order to avoid them. But now? Being accountable to _two_ different adults at any one time? That was virgin territory for the teenager and Jess was certain he didn't like it.

But then there was the flip-side of the coin, that tiny part in his stomach that was twisting a little. Lorelai Gilmore hadn't started out as his biggest fan, yet here she was giving a damn about him. About _him_! Was it just for Luke's sake? Jess kind of hoped not because there was a part of him that felt…_good_ about the idea. Not that anything could or should ever come of it, Jess reminded himself firmly. She was _Rory's_ mother; not his. A person like Rory _deserved_ her; he didn't.

Out in the hallway, Jess could hear her conversation more clearly as Lorelai started to return. "Yes, Sam. I know. No, why not? Lunch sounds good – I always brainstorm better over pasta." As she talked, Lorelai filled a glass with water and set it on the table in front of Jess. Her phone partner obviously said something to her liking because she laughed suddenly. Jess watched in mild suspicion as the tops of her ears tinged pink. She ran a self-conscious hand through her hair and Jess noted the way she tucked a strand behind her ear. His eyes narrowed a little but he glanced away when he saw her look over at him and give him one of those embarrassed, 'sorry, I'll be done in a minute' smiles.

"Yeah. Me too." She laughed again though it sounded a little more forced. Jess started in surprise when he felt her run a quick, motherly hand across the back of his head as she passed by and placed a small cup with his counted meds on it in front of him. He felt his heart begin to ache as he unconsciously breathed a little harder. Is this what he'd missed? Jess quickly tried not to think about it. He stared at the pills in the cup. Pink, blue, white. Jess couldn't even remember what they did any more.

"Okay, we'll do lunch tomorrow then and we'll figure it out together." Then Lorelai exchanged goodbyes and hung up. "Sorry about that, Jess. That was just someone from work." Still staring at the pills, Jess nodded without comment.

"You remember I told you about Sam? The guy who's writing the pitch for us?"

"Uh huh. Stanford. Genius. Nice eyes."

She lightly slapped him on the arm. "I said nothing about his eyes," the woman protested in mock-indignation.

Jess pretended to think about it. "You're right. It could have been his…"

But Lorelai cut him off with a half-amused look and pointed to the cup. "Take your pills wise-guy. You've got homework to do after this." Jess groaned and flopped his head on to the table.

"You're as bad as Luke!" he protested. "I'm tired!" But Lorelai, it seemed, was not so easily swayed.

"Then the sooner you get it done, the sooner you can rest your weary head."

So, reluctantly, Jess did as he was instructed, relieved to be at least left in peace for the rest of the evening. When eventually even _he_ couldn't pretend he wasn't falling asleep at the table any longer and his history homework had been completed to what Jess considered an acceptable standard, Jess was more than ready to turn in. The prospect though was still a touch daunting. He wasn't entirely sure how much he trusted Lorelai Gilmore while he was unawares and sleeping! She was a little _too_ much like him in many ways.

And though Jess would be loathe to admit this to a living soul, even to Rory, his sleeping ritual was something that was very important to him. He realised it wouldn't seem that way to most people who probably saw him as something of a free, if not wayward spirit who was used to bunking down for the night wherever he found himself. But the truth was Jess liked to feel _safe_, particularly at night when things tended to happen. Over the years he had created his own ways of carrying that security with him. At Luke's, Jess had created that but here, he was feeling a little uneasy.

Still, that was private and personal and no-one's problem but his own. With a satisfying thud, Jess slammed his book on the Second World War shut and slid the volume into his book-bag. He hung it on the back of his chair then grabbed his crutches and made his way upstairs to where his bed was beckoning.

It was gone eleven and he had already heard Lorelai moving about upstairs and assumed this was part of her own nightly ritual. The idea of witnessing hideous face masks or other 'beauty' rituals was actually scaring him a little. But she'd been in her room for a fair while now. Maybe it was safe to go. He reached his room, relieved to arrive unscathed and opened his door. Once inside, Jess let his crutches drop against the wall, shut the door and hobbled the last few steps to the bed unaided, knowing Luke would have been nagging him again if he'd seen it.

As he sat down on the bed Jess removed his watch and tossed it on the bedside table. That's when he saw the three items that hadn't been there earlier that night. One was his bottle of pain meds, the other a plastic water bottle and the third was an i-pod and headphones. A note was wrapped around the i-pod and Jess curiously took the device and unwrapped the note:

_I don't think we grabbed your music from Luke's so I hope this will do. Found it in Rory's room so I can't guarantee what's on it._

It was signed with a smiley face. For a second, Jess just sat there, lightly running his fingers over first the note and then the i-pod. Then he allowed a small smile of his own as he shuffled through the music until he could find a track-list to sleep to.

* * *

Right that's it for now – chapter 4 is underway and I'll get it out as soon as possible. I really hope you liked this chapter, even though I know there isn't much happening at the moment. I promise it will pick up next chapter. Thanks for reading this far. Please let me know what you think if you have a spare minute.


	4. Chapter 4

Knight in Shining Hair Gel – Chapter 4

Standard disclaimer applies

Thank you all very much for your feedback so far – I really appreciate it. I'm afraid this story is more fluff than substance at the moment – I have a very bad habit of waffling! But if you're still reading, then please enjoy this next offering.

* * *

Lorelai banged on Jess' door a good fifteen minutes before he really had to be up, assuming that a fifteen minute lag was to be expected in all dealings with the taciturn teenager. She'd been right, too. Eventually, his door creaked open and from where she stood in the kitchen, taking out boxes of cereal, Lorelai was glad to hear him finally moving around.

Going off previous experience, Lorelai had made it to the bathroom first, leaving Jess plenty of time alone with the wash basin, the mirror and his hair products. When he emerged for breakfast, his hair was dark, tousled, bouncy and had obviously been behaving itself because Jess had pulled off his trademark casual, cool and slightly disdainful look with aplomb.

Lorelai grinned when she saw him. "Morning, sweetie!" she called. "How do you like your cereal?"

"Lactose infused," the boy replied, taking his seat from last night.

"Ah – my speciality. Coming right up." A carton of milk was placed in the middle of the table and Jess grabbed the box of Cheerios from the side and poured himself a bowl.

"You sleep okay?" Lorelai asked, being careful not to sound too interested in case Jess took offence. Fortunately, a good night's sleep appeared to have worked a small miracle on Jess who simply gave her a slightly guarded look before nodding.

"Fine." He didn't mention the i-pod but then Lorelai knew enough now not to expect him to and she accepted it without insult. A sudden knock at the door brought them both up short. Jess glanced over his shoulder towards the hallway and Lorelai exchanged a brief, puzzled look before she shrugged.

"Could be the mail?"

Their answer came a few seconds later. From where Jess sat, his back now to the door, he frowned as he heard Lorelai's still puzzled voice. "Sam? What are you doing here? I'm sorry, I thought we weren't meeting until lunch." A man's deep voice answered her but Jess couldn't quite make out the words.

The next thing he knew, Lorelai returned to the kitchen followed by a shiny, tailored suit encompassing a tall, well-built man in, what Jess guessed to be, his late thirties. His blonde hair was cut short and stylish, maybe a little too young for him and his designer stubble made him look like he'd just stepped out of the pages of a very glossy GQ magazine. Yet, for all the trimmings, when he followed Lorelai in, hovering just too close so that she bumped in to him when she turned around, he still moved awkwardly and oozed inadequacy.

Jess looked back to his cereal and smirked. He lived and breathed for mocking geeks like this. As if Lorelai could sense his attitude, she sent a light warning look his way. Jess had caught the look and obligingly buttoned his lip: for the time being. He was still a guest in her house and for Luke and Rory's sake, Jess didn't want to screw that up.

"Did you want some coffee, Sam?" Lorelai asked, moving to top-up the water in the kettle. Their unexpected guest plastered a wide, and in Jess' opinion, a slick grin over his face and propped a hip on one of the kitchen chairs. When he promptly slid right off it again, sending the chair a few feet across the floor, Jess snorted and almost choked on his cereal. The young man winced as he felt Lorelai smoothly move behind him and helpfully thump him on the back, just a little harder than necessary.

But 'Sam' was shaking his head, tooth-paste commercial-grin still in place and trying hard to regain his suave composure. "No that's very kind of you. But I was hoping we could grab a bite of breakfast before work?"

Quickly retrieving the piece of furniture, he straightened his tie and tried once more to lean against it as he watched the young woman expectantly. Lorelai rested against the kitchen counter, her reply hanging in the air for a moment as she weighed up the situation. Her face registered her momentary hesitation. "If you'd rather not," he swept in, "I can just see you at work." He gave a smooth laugh. "Though a little bird told me you love good coffee and pastries." Sam gave her a quick wink while Jess rolled his eyes in disgust.

"_A_ _little bird_ tell you where she lived, too?" he muttered into his cereal. This 'Sam' character just rubbed him the wrong way. Jess didn't trust him. _Luke_ sure as hell wouldn't trust him and without his uncle _or_ Rory there, Jess knew he was the only one left to be on his guard. Sam glanced over at Jess, sitting hunched over his bowl and looked just a hair guilty as he shrugged, ruefully at Lorelai.

"I did a little digging," he admitted. But, Jess noted irritably, Lorelai didn't appear to be upset. Instead, she gave him a devilish smile and wagged an accusatory finger.

"I knew you had a little Tin-Tin in you."

"Or Richard Ramirez."

"_Jess_."

More than used to hearing his name sounded as a warning, Jess sighed and pushed himself away from his half-eaten breakfast. "I'm done," he announced, rising to his feet and clearing his bowl to the sink. Lorelai shot a slightly embarrassed smile at her work colleague, feeling her cheeks a little flushed. Though she hadn't quite worked Jess out, she got the feeling he was, for the most part, acting out of a sense of goodness rather than a need to annoy. But that still didn't change her awkwardness as Sam had flashed a surprised look to the back of Jess' head.

Without a word to her, Jess grabbed the old trash bag and tied it up. Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Can you do that with your crutches?" she wondered but Jess simply ignored her and snatched up the said items, the over-flowing bag somehow supported in the grip of one hand. Then he quickly made his exit from the kitchen before he said anything _else_ unwise or unwarranted about Lorelai's choice in slimy companions.

"Jess?" she called after him when she didn't get a response. Jess bit back a sigh. He was always forgetting this wasn't Luke and that, unlike his uncle, Lorelai kept waiting for verbal responses to her questions.

"It's _fine_," he shot back, still attempting to sound civil.

Sam pushed himself away from the table as he watched the teenager struggle to manoeuvre his leg, the crutches _and_ the bag to the front door. "Uh, do you want a hand with that?" he asked, though from the direction his eyes were travelling, he seemed to be addressing Lorelai more than the object of his question.

Jess narrowed his eyes as he put the bag down by the door to open it, glad Lorelai couldn't see the gesture as he didn't want her disapproving frown on him any longer. _Creep_, he thought to himself taking the bag out and leaving them alone for a moment. He wasn't sure _why_ this jerk riled him, but that's exactly what he did.

Left alone in the kitchen, Sam seemed to find his flow again. He gave what he hoped was a polite half laugh. "I didn't know you had a son," he offered, nodding to where the hostile teenager had just disappeared. "I thought it was just you and your daughter."

"Oh, right - _Jess_." Lorelai began, her smile widening. "I'm sorry about before. I think he gets a little over-protective…though that one's a new experience for me, too." Truth was, though she hated the idea of Jess being rude to one of her guests, it was a little touching, in its own warped way. She wrapped her arms around her middle as she faced Sam feeling a little strange yet excited at his unexpected arrival.

Sam was nodding in understanding. "That's perfectly natural for a young man his age – he's just looking out for his mother." At that, Lorelai laughed, though not without a small twinge of something unidentifiable.

"Oh, he's not my son."

Sam looked surprised. "He's not? He has your colouring. I just assumed…"

"No." She shook her head. "Every evening I do the rounds of the neighbourhood in my cunningly disguised ice-cream truck-cage and I see how many kids I've collected by the end of the night." She gave Sam a disarming smile. "Young Jess has a weakness for cherry-flavoured popsicles." Lorelai laughed again when she saw just the slightest trace of uncertainty cross his face. "Don't worry. He's staying with me for a few days as a favour to a friend while he's out of town. And please," she assured him, "don't worry about Jess – he's just teasing. Kids, eh?" Samuel tried to hide his grimace: if _that_ was teasing, he'd hate to see him angry.

At that moment, the front door banged open again and they both watched Jess return, minus the bag. "Thanks, Jess," she called out. The kid gave her an embarrassed nod before sitting down on the couch and pulling a paperback from his book-bag, which Lorelai had apparently removed from the back of the kitchen chair and placed on the coffee table.

Watching this, Lorelai felt a tiny affectionate glow inside her. He really could be a sweet kid if he decided to let you see that side of him. If this was the side that Luke saw, the small gestures that may sometimes go unnoticed or a conversation void of barbed remarks, then the perceptive Gilmore was realising more and more why her friend stood up for his nephew as often as he did; why he so vociferously defended the mini-hoodlum against those who often came baying for his blood at the first hint of trouble in the town.

"So," Samuel suddenly announced. "How about it Miss Gilmore? Can I twist your arm and buy you breakfast? I would like to add that it would be my pleasure."

From the couch, Jess was holding his breath, willing Lorelai to have some common sense and kick the creep out on his ear. His heart sank then when he heard her laugh and say in a rather good Southern drawl, "Well, good sir, how can I possibly turn down such a charming offer as that?" They shared another hearty laugh while she no-doubt batted her eyelashes at him, which made Jess grip the pages of his book a little tighter.

Jess kept his eyes glued to the page as Sam led Lorelai from the kitchen, his hand holding her elbow. To Jess, it felt predatory but doubtless Lorelai found it 'charming'. Jess just didn't get it: she was a smart woman, not someone he would have classed as gullible. Well, he amended, not so much recently, anyway. Why couldn't she see it?

Guys who turned up at a woman's door, unannounced and first thing in the morning to make their move just came off as either freaky or desperate in his book. It raised his hackles and there was something about Samuel Jenkins, for all his sharp suits, silver tongue and top education that nevertheless reminded him of some of the losers Liz used to bring home after a night in the local bar.

But, his erstwhile guardian had made it clear that she didn't appreciate his contributions on the matter. At least, not the ones she knew about. Samuel took Lorelai's coat from the peg by the door and helped her in to it. _Like her arms have suddenly stopped working?_ Jess thought to himself, irritably. But she accepted the gesture with a simple 'thank you'. Romeo then opened the door for her.

"I hope you'll like the car. It's a beautiful morning to be driving with the roof down." Outside the house was parked a gleaming, silver Porsche 911 looking rather out of place in-front of the Gilmore's modest residence. He stepped back to allow Lorelai to go first and looked surprised when she held back with an apologetic shake of her head.

"Oh, that's really sweet of you," she started, "but I assumed I'd be taking my own car." Again, Jenkins shot her a puzzled look.

"Why? We can go on to work together afterwards and I can drop you back home at the end of the day. Far more economical. I really don't mind!" he assured her as he watched Lorelai's expression falter a little more.

"I really can't," she insisted as she fished her car-keys out of her purse. "I need to drop Jess at school." Despite his dislike of her new Casanova, Jess' dislike of school still won out.

"I can walk! I don't need a lift," he called from where he sat. He hadn't been driven to school in a long time and it was probably just as embarrassing as he remembered.

"I could give him a ride in…" Jenkins began to weakly protest.

"As _what_?" Jess snorted. "A hood ornament?!"

"There's space in the back!"

However, Lorelai quickly broke up the blossoming argument. Ignoring the disappointed look on Samuel's face and the annoyed one on Jess', she remained insistent. "Jess – you _do_ need a ride in. It's one thing when you were at Luke's and right across the street from it but you're too far away here with your leg the way it is."

"But…"

"No 'buts', Jess!" She fixed him with a hard look, her hands on her hips and Jess tried hard not to growl in frustration as he realised it was another battle lost. "I'm not arguing with you." She suddenly tossed him the keys and he had to think quickly to catch them before they flew right past him. "Go let yourself in," she told him, "and wait for me in the car." When Jess didn't immediately move, her voice notched up a level. "_Now_, please Jess."

Jess let out a final exclamation of teenaged-annoyance before shoving his book in his bag and pushing up from the couch. He slung his bag over his shoulder and shuffled past the two adults, steadfastly ignoring Jenkins and casting a baleful look at Lorelai. "You got your pills for after lunch?" she asked him. His expression darkened and he looked away from her.

"_Yes_," he muttered, then made his way down to her car, as instructed. Jess paused a moment by Jenkin's car. He examined it closely, peered in through the window. What he saw made him smile. A CD case of Ricky Martin lay in the door pocket on the driver's side. Behind the passenger seat, just sticking out from underneath it was the edge of Cosmo magazine. Checking to see that Lorelai and Samuel weren't watching, Jess leaned in to the car and flipped open the glove compartment. A selection of receipts, manuals, lipsticks and a compact mirror slid forwards. With a smirk, Jess snapped the compartment shut and stepped back from the car.

"What a weasely little _liar_," Jess wondered aloud to himself. "It's not his at all - it's his damned _wife's_ car!" Or maybe a girlfriend, he silently amended. Then, what had been amusement turned to anger. He glanced back at Lorelai, still exchanging words with Jenkins and noted the way the sleaze now had his hand on the small of her back – all in perfect innocence of course. The boy's eyes narrowed. He wanted to stalk up there and call the jerk out on it. Though he could probably deny it. Jess thought about Lorelai. She didn't like him interfering and probably wouldn't appreciate being embarrassed in front of him. She'd already proven as much.

But didn't he have an _obligation_ to tell her? Isn't that what these supposedly 'noble' and 'honourable' people were supposed to do? Jess was sure he'd read that in a book somewhere. But wait, he commanded himself, with supreme will power. What if this really _is_ just breakfast, and what if he was reading too much in to it? What if Lorelai knew _exactly_ what she was doing? She wasn't _Liz_, after all. She didn't need watching like his mother had. He sighed, heavily. There was too damned much to think about when you were trying to do the right thing!

The front door slammed, making Jess jump. "Okay, Sam. I'll meet you there."

Lorelai came up beside him and gave him a puzzled look. "My car opens the same way all the other cars do, Jess." It was then that Jess remembered her earlier instruction and, a little sheepishly, handed her back the car keys. But on seeing the Porsche, she just smiled and patted his cheek, fondly. "Some day Jess, if you eat all your vegetables, you too may own a car like this." Despite his earlier misgivings, Jess rolled his eyes in response.

"I could think of better things to waste my money on." Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him, opened the passenger door of her car and pointed, meaningfully to it.

"Get in," she said, a light warning in her tone. She watched as Jess followed her command and then carefully shut the door when he was safely tucked inside. Then she turned back to Samuel. "I'll be about ten minutes," she told him. He nodded his understanding, gave a wave to Jess who made a point of looking the other way when he saw it, then climbed into his own car. Within a few seconds, the engine was revving and he had squealed off down the street.

Lorelai watched him go with a small shake of her head. Fancy cars did not impress her but it was sweet that he seemed to be trying. Not that Jenkins was really her type, even if the flattery was something Lorelai would sometimes like a little more of in her life. But a working breakfast would be fun _and_ productive.

She climbed in the car and started the engine, glancing sideways to check Jess was strapped in. He followed her gaze and sighed, causing her to smile. "Sorry," she laughed. "It's a mom thing."

"If you say so."

As Lorelai pulled out into the early morning neighbourhood traffic, she spared another look at her companion. "You okay?" she asked. He seemed to be drifting away from her again. For a second, she saw Jess hesitate. It was as though, she thought, he had something weighing on his mind, something he was debating talking about. She felt like holding her breath. Jess rarely _chose_ to say anything.

But eventually, the boy just closed his mouth and shook his head. "Everything's fine," he mumbled and that was all she could get out of him until they pulled up outside the school. As Jess unclipped his seat-belt, Lorelai looked over to him.

"Promise me you won't walk back." Jess groaned.

"Seriously? I am not having you pick me up from school!"

"I mean it, Jess. I won't wait for you where people can see, I promise. Look, you go wait at Luke's after school and I'll be by as soon as I can after work. Okay?" Jess opened his door and let it swing wide. "_Okay_?" she repeated, that tone back in her voice.

Jess sighed. "Okay," he acquiesced, grumbling.

"Have a good day then." Lorelai smiled warmly at him as Jess climbed out of the car. Before the passenger door slammed, Lorelai could just about make out:

"_Yeah, yeah_. Whatever."

* * *

At school that day, Jess had honestly made an effort to concentrate on his teachers. Well, he hadn't mouthed off to anyone or started any fights. He considered that a laudable achievement and frankly so did the faculty. But still, his mind turned back again and again to Lorelai. She had been okay, he mused, as far as adult house-mates went. Certainly, though she had been hard work and hadn't left him alone to his own devices, as he had hoped she would, he had still enjoyed his evening.

As much as he hated the interference, he also kind of enjoyed her fussing. _Just a little_. And he would _never_ tell her that. But there weren't many women who had cared about him, though, in her own way, Liz had tried. But Lorelai had an instinct for it and it was fair to say that Liz didn't. It was just that Jess just hated the feeling in his gut that Samuel Jenkins was a fake and no-good and that he should have said something earlier to Lorelai. His gut kept telling him this. But then Luke was always telling him not to listen so much to his gut – that it led him astray and that he needed to listen more to reason.

Jess sighed and looked at the clock. Twenty minutes until school let out. His Spanish teacher was asking the class to repeat something. Jess had no intention of joining in but it did bring his attention back to the present and he at least peered over his neighbour's shoulder to find out what page they were on in the textbook.

When the final bell rang, Jess gratefully headed out of school and over to the diner. The school crowd were already spilling in, filling up the tables and Jess was very grateful to have somewhere safe to disappear to, away from them. He found himself talking to Lane a little and exchanged the odd word with Dean, but otherwise, Jess wanted nothing to do with that crowd of people.

Once upstairs he surprised himself by making a start on his homework and he fixed himself a snack, grabbing a soda from the fridge. Luke's beers sat on the top shelf but Jess knew he'd notice if one was missing. Then there'd be hell to pay when his uncle got home. All things considered, it wasn't worth it.

At four-thirty, Jess heard a key in the door and quickly shut his book, having done as much of his homework as he intended to that night.

He heard her voice behind him: "Hey, sweetie. Sorry I'm late. You ready to go?"

It was light, breezy and bona-fide, Lorelai-chipper but immediately his gut tightened as he knew it: something was wrong. And just like that, Jess _knew_ he should have trusted his gut.

* * *

Right – that's it for now. Thanks for reading this far! Chapter 5 is already underway and I shall try hard to get it out in the next day or so. Your feedback really does help to encourage me and to keep the creative juices flowing. I have no-one in my life who watches Gilmore Girls so this is my only opportunity to share ideas with the like-minded and get inspiration So please, if you have a minute, do drop me a line as I love to hear from you.


	5. Chapter 5

Knight in Shining Hair Gel – Chapter 5

Standard disclaimer applies

Thank you SO much for all your very kind reviews. I really appreciate them. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Thanks also to_ Magentafunbuble_ for pointing out how to spell 'Sookie'! I didn't have a clue and I have now used the correct spelling for this chapter.

* * *

Jess swivelled round in his chair to face her. "What happened?"

There followed a moment of silence, heavy in the air. Lorelai's smile faltered under the teenage boy's scrutiny. His dark eyes seemed to fix her to the spot, taking in something she couldn't define.

"What are you talking about, Jess?" She shook her head in a gesture of carelessness. The way she was being looked at made her uncomfortable. She chanced a swift glance at her reflection in the window. She looked normal, she decided. How could he know? He must be referring to something else – she was simply being paranoid. Discreetly, almost without thinking, Lorelai smoothed the jacket of her sleeve down, teasing it to the end of its length as it brushed her wrist.

Jess stood from his chair and folded his arms. "Something's wrong." His voice was lower than she had ever heard it – almost a growl: it sent a shiver running through her. There was no uncertainty in his voice – instead it was a statement; a fact; an accusation. In the silence that stretched the few feet between them she felt momentarily lost for words.

It was though Jess, as diminutive as he was, was expanding slowly inside. Something quiet and dark was emerging, rising up from the depths of flippancy and a bruised ego. In the centre of her chest, Lorelai felt her heart thudding and her carefully crafted control begin to slip.

She cleared her throat and the sudden noise in the vacuum both startled her and gave her the push she needed out of her stupor. Quickly, Lorelai reasserted herself, regained control. _She_ was the adult; _he_ was the child. She reminded herself of that one more time before speaking. "Jess, I don't know what you mean." She was impressed with the conviction and authority in her voice and it seemed to have an impact, however small, on her young charge. His unwavering gaze lowered a moment. "Now," she continued, forcing the brightness back into her voice, "I would really like to get home now so if you're ready, let's get going."

She turned back to the door, willing him to follow without further question. She heard him gather his crutches and his bag and heard the furniture sliding as he moved around it. But Jess wasn't done. "What did he do?"

At that, Lorelai stopped walking and threw her hands up in the air, spinning to face him. "Uh! Jess will you let it go? I have no idea _what_ you're talking about, _who_ you're talking about and what on earth could _possibly_ make you think something was wrong! Now I'm _done with these games_! You got me?" She glared, pointedly at him. "It's _enough_!" Her voice had risen in volume and sharpened in tone and a finger pointed straight at him. It had the effect she wanted: it cowed him, put him back in his place. Dimly, she realised her intention was to intimidate him into submission and the fact that it seemed to be working only served to make her feel guilty. This _wasn't_ her method of parenting and she knew full well that this was Jess' primary experience of _being_ parented.

Lorelai held the door as Jess went ahead of her, his expression so hard and suspicious that it ate into her. Resolutely ignoring his look, she locked the door behind her. Wordlessly, she took Jess' book-bag from him, anxious about him carrying it while going down the stairs.

But, his crutches poised just above the first step, Jess turned his face sideways to her. "If he…"

"_Jess_!" She yelled, sharply. "For God's sake!" Her voice rang out like a shot. She held her breath, willing him to back down before she said anything else to rock the boat between Luke's nephew and her. But she had seen the hurt in Jess' eyes before he had the chance to reign it in. Wordlessly, he turned away from her and continued down the stairs. Lorelai released a sigh and followed him to the car, guilt beginning to encompass her.

As she drove them home, Lorelai cast quick glances across at Jess. His gaze was thankfully no longer fixed on her but rather on a spot out of his window. He didn't look at her, he didn't speak to her and Lorelai began to hope she hadn't sabotaged their developing relationship. She could no longer deny her protectiveness towards the young man, her burgeoning maternal instinct over him. It even felt a little proprietorial in a way. Jess' recalcitrant attitude only made his moments of levity and openness more rewarding.

The truth of the matter was, she realised while looking at the boy from across the car, that her initial reluctance to look after Jess when Luke had first asked her had nothing to do with not wanting to be responsible for him. Instead, it had more to do with a desire to not screw things up; to not set-back all the good progress Luke had been making with him.

"Jess," she began, gently. He didn't turn to look at her. "Sweetie? I'm sorry I yelled at you." She was forced to slow for a red light and she took the opportunity to study him more closely. Jess would never admit it, but her tone had upset him. That, and she knew he still wasn't satisfied from his earlier enquiry. But, she held fast, this was _not_ something she would be discussing with Luke's teenage nephew.

Hesitantly, Lorelai reached out and rubbed his arm. Through his long-sleeved t-shirt, she could feel his muscles taut beneath the material. He jumped slightly at her touch. "It's sweet of you to be concerned, Jess. But really, I promise you I'm fine. It's just been…it's just been one of those days at work." Lorelai continued to stare at him intently until a horn beeped from behind her. Quickly, she removed her hand from Jess' arm and pulled away from lights.

The car gently rounded a corner as she approached her street. Jess was still staring out of the window and every now and then she could see his jaw grinding. The boy's hands were fisted tightly in his lap. They soon pulled up into her driveway and both exited the car silently.

Once inside, Jess was half-way to the staircase, the hall light low, casting them both in half-shadows before he stopped again. Lorelai paused behind him and held her breath. Very carefully, she took Jess by the shoulders and gently turned the teenager to face her. The young mother's heart ached to see the pain written over his face.

"_Jess_," she said, emphatically but he cut her off, very quietly yet vibrating with deep sincerity:

"I'm not _stupid_," he muttered forcefully and when his soulful eyes finally met hers, Lorelai felt her own begin to water. "You don't need to lie to me."

"Jess, I'm not…" But suddenly, as though giving up the pretence, Lorelai thought better of it. She let out a deep sigh and cupped her hands gently around his face. Jess watched her, warily. His expression was so earnest, so painful. He probably didn't even know if he liked her or not, if she was like a mother to him or simply the annoying friend of his uncle. But one thing was certain: his instinct to protect her was killing him, whether he liked it or not.

"Oh baby," she breathed heavily. Then Lorelai withdrew her hands from his face and looked down at the floor. In the dim shadows, her expression was almost entirely hidden, as was Jess'. Neither one made a move to turn the lights on. "I won't be seeing Sam again," she announced quietly yet forcing a tone of assurance into her voice. "But I promise you," and here she ensured his eyes met hers and she held his gaze with an honest one of her own. "_Nothing_ happened. Nothing I can't handle."

Jess' lip curled upwards, immediately, his body tensing. His eyes appeared to grow darker still. "Jess," Lorelai insisted again, "I _mean_ it. I've been called worse things in my life and it was one of those times when we both got mixed messages." His look clearly said he didn't believe her. But still, Lorelai pressed on, her voice barely above a whisper. "He didn't hurt me, Jess. I _promise you_!" And though no marks were visible on her face, they both knew they could hide in other places.

Lorelai sighed and took a half step away from Jess. Looking at the boy, she realised how futile it had been to try to hide her incident with Sam from him. Though being totally honest with the boy was not something she intended to do, a half-version of the truth was probably the best bet and she had been foolish to try to fool him. Jess had an instinct about these things and it made Lorelai so angry to think of the times this boy had been forced into the role of protector: of the number of ways that he must have seen signs of heavy-handed boyfriends on his mother. Jess could see through a victim's lie quicker than anyone. After all, it took one to know one.

"I'll be okay," she repeated firmly and was very relieved when Jess gave a small nod in return. Then she leaned forwards and gave Jess a gentle kiss on the forehead. "But thank you for being concerned." He looked away from her and she smiled slipping easily back into 'mom' mode. Being a mother with him, she decided, was actually easier than being a friend.

"Now," Lorelai announced, "I'm going to actually attempt to _cook_ dinner tonight so

go on up to your room and get on with your homework. I'll call you when it's ready. Or whenever you hear the smoke alarm."

"I've done it," Jess said. "At Luke's." Lorelai raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him, grateful to be back on innocent ground.

"Wow – that whole forty-five minutes? Man, they're going easy on kids since my day." She folded her arms and fixed him with 'the look'. Jess narrowed his eyes at her and clearly looked annoyed. Not saying another word, he huffed and promptly disappeared up to his room. Lorelai watched him go and as soon as she heard his bedroom door shut, she leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief.

Her eyes brimmed with tears and she angrily swiped them away. _God dammit_! No-one made her feel this way! Nothing had even happened, nothing at least, that she couldn't handle. Absently, Lorelai fingered the bruise emerging on the flesh beneath her sleeve. She pressed a little harder, the pain serving as a sharp reminder to her own lack of judgement.

Launching herself away from the wall, Lorelai shook herself out of it, dimly wondering how kids like Jess did this on a daily basis. She then headed in to the kitchen and stared at the barely used silver pots and pans for a minute or so. There were only a few recipes she either knew or was equipped to make so it shouldn't have been so hard to choose a menu for the night. Finally she pulled some frozen chicken pieces from the freezer and took a jar of tomato sauce out from the cupboard. A quick check to the expiry date showed it was still within the realms of accidental manslaughter.

Her mind inadvertently began to drift back to that lunch time, when rejecting Jenkin's unwarranted advances had proved so troublesome. The Le Chez fine dining restaurant that she had allowed him to take her to had been exquisite to the point of being ridiculous. The décor, the menu no-one could understand, the fifteen-page wine list – all of it. Lorelai should have balked at the outset. The place had been everything she hated about the glamorous and elite. It had stifled her more than Friday Night Dinners with her parents. The breakfast that morning had been easy, pleasant and charming. She had felt no qualms about accepting his original invitation for lunch as well.

However, the more she had dined with Samuel, the clearer his personality appeared. He was dull, needy and more than a little narcissistic. A twinge of guilt clenched her chest: she should have known where his intentions were going and she had known from the outset that he was never her type. But she had still taken his company and, reluctantly, accepted his lavish gift of a meal she would have blown half her pay cheque on! How could she have _thought_ that was a friendly meal! God – the fact that he ordered two glasses of champagne and a selection from the menu which came listed on the bill as a _couple's choice_ didn't even reach her notice until it came time to settle up at the end! Lorelai closed her eyes, angry at her own misjudgement.

Presently, she forced herself into action. Dinner wasn't making itself and tonight, she welcomed the distraction. The frozen chicken was thrown in the microwave to defrost and while it hummed away in the corner, Lorelai emptied the sauce into a pan to heat. It sloshed around in the bottom of the metal pan, red and chunky. It made her stomach turn and she realised just what little appetite she really had for it. But Jess needed to eat. Once again, Lorelai was glad for the young man's company, especially in the absence of her daughter. It forced her to keep things normal, to push aside her own anger.

When her cell phone rang, Lorelai nearly dropped the wooden spoon she was using to stir the sauce. She scrambled to pick it up and hesitantly looked at the caller ID. Sookie's number flashed clearly on the screen and, with a small smile, she flipped open the phone.

"Hey, Sookie," she greeted, a genuine smile making it to her lips. "How's it going?" And as her friend began to talk, just hearing her voice helped to ease Lorelai's mood. She picked up the spoon with one hand and held the phone with her other. "Nothing much," she said, in answer to her friends' question. "Just cooking dinner." There was a short pause before she widened her eyes in mock horror and laughed. "Yes – _really_! Don't sound so surprised and don't worry, I'm going to inflict most of it on Jess."

The sauce began to boil and Lorelai turned it down to simmer gently. She listened to her best friend talk and as she talked, Lorelai felt her body start to tense again. "I told you, Sookie – I'm okay. He just scared me a little with all that ranting and raving but…but he let go eventually. Honestly, I know I was a mess this afternoon but I kind of over-reacted." She closed her eyes again at Sookie's sharp response. "That's what I said this afternoon but I've had some time to think about it more rationally and it really wasn't as bad as it seemed at first. He just…" She sighed, heavily. "He scared the living crap out of me but he was all talk in the end. I just want to forget about it."

Her friend's passing comments caused Lorelai to wince. She knew Sookie only had her best interests at heart and that she was fiercely protective of her but honestly, the poor woman had come away with the worst impression about the whole confrontation having been the first person Lorelai had gone to when she got back to the Inn from lunch.

The truth was, now she felt more embarrassed than upset. But at the time….Her arm had still been throbbing from where he had grabbed and shaken her, refusing to let her go until one of the doormen stepped a little closer. She recalled the feeling of cold panic when Sam had first pushed her up against the car in order to move in for the kiss he seemed to think would be reciprocated; his strong, muscular body had pressed firmly against her own but rather than being excited by it, she had only felt trapped.

Pushing him away had been an immediate instinct but not one Sam had appreciated. Again, Lorelai took a deep breath and cleared her thoughts, trying to put the incident behind her. It was done and over-with and she would not waste one more moment worrying about a jerk like him! After the sales pitch was delivered tomorrow night, she would never need to see Sam Jenkins again.

Her conversation with Sookie lasted another minute or so but when the microwave beeped at her, she knew it was time to hang up and concentrate on her evening. So, thanking Sookie sincerely and feeling decidedly better and calmer than she had been before the phone call, Lorelai hung up and tucked her phone back into her bag.

As Lorelai busied herself with the rest of dinner, bustling about the kitchen, Jess eased himself up from the top step of the staircase and quietly crept back into his room, his mind churning. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to eavesdrop, but when snippets of the conversation drifted up his way, Jess found himself hooked and had come out to hear more clearly. And the more he listened, the more the indignation bubbled inside of him. Once back in his room, he shut the door and sat back on the bed. But he was no longer looking at the school books spread out beside him.

All he could think about was _Samuel Jenkins_. Lorelai didn't appear to be hurt and for that he was grateful, but that didn't change the fact that Samuel Jenkins had _tried_. He had _insulted_ her, _intimidated_ her with his wild actions but worst of all, he had _frightened_ her. Jess knew _exactly_ what that was like: to be made to feel small and helpless by somebody stronger than you; to be made to feel subservient, as though you _owed_ another person just because they had demanded it. It made you feel pathetic, it made you hate yourself for your own weakness. They tried to make you feel like a nothing, like a nobody, like someone who would never even _consider_ fighting back and if they did it often enough then that's when you started believing them. His eyes started to burn.

Lorelai wasn't there yet. And he took comfort in the knowledge that she never would be. At the end of the day, Samuel Jenkins may have been pathetic, a loser and a small-time creep but that didn't mean he couldn't find out what happened when he tried his crap on the wrong person. A little lesson was most definitely in order. His mangled leg would force him to be more…creative in his ventures as he would have to count out a physical retaliation. But, Jess was nothing if not creative. A crooked smile played on his lips.

His books forgotten, Jess turned his mind to far more satisfying endeavours.

* * *

When Lorelai called him to dinner, the two of them ate in companionable silence. Now that she had divulged some, if not all, of the day's events to Jess, the tension between them had gone and Lorelai felt able to relax. Gratefully, she saw Jess had let the matter drop. It was certainly a more subdued affair than the previous night but she enjoyed it nevertheless. Even the cooking wasn't as bad as either of them had been expecting.

When the meal was over Lorelai stacked the plates while Jess finished the last of his fruit juice. "So Jess," Lorelai began, "Luke's still due back Saturday, as far as you know, right?"

Jess shrugged. "Unless he's buried under a stack of fifty-year old newspapers somewhere."

Lorelai laughed. "Let's hope not, or you could become a permanent resident. But since that means tomorrow will be your last dinner here, I think _you_ should choose the take-out."

Jess eyed the collection of menus, pinned to the fridge door by magnets. "_Gee_," he drawled, "are you sure? I couldn't _possibly_…" He ducked as she flipped a drying cloth at him and he couldn't help grinning in his lop-sided way. "I'll be sure to give it serious consideration in school," he assured her.

"Good!" Lorelai exclaimed, brightly. She stacked away the dinner plates, impressed with her house-keeping skills for once then turned to Jess. "Are you done with homework?"

"Yup," he lied. It was almost the truth anyway. Thankfully, Lorelai didn't seem to want to check it. Instead she said.

"Then how about we watch a movie?" She gave him an appraising smile. "I hear you can mock with the best of us?"

Jess raised one eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"It might be."

"Pick the movie and bring it on."

"Oh, I'll bring it! C'mon Junior – park yourself on that couch." Jess allowed himself a smile as he made his way to the couch and settled down to an evening of light entertainment.

* * *

By the time the final credits of _Rocky II_ were drawing to a close, Lorelai appeared to be waning. She yawned and stretched and, as she was sitting lengthways on one end of the couch with Jess sitting at the other, she nudged him gently with her foot and grinned at the boy. "I don't know about you Jess, but I feel culturally enriched enough for one night. I'm going to bed." Jess glanced down at his watch. It read a little after ten.

"Okay," he nodded as she rose to her feet and flipped off the TV and DVD player.

Then Lorelai leaned down and pecked him quickly on the cheek before Jess could react. He scowled at the sneak-attack but that only made her chuckle. "Goodnight, Jess." She sauntered towards the staircase, turning back to face him as she took the first stair. "Don't stay up too late," she warned. But Jess shook his head.

"I'm beat," he answered her. "I'm just going to finish this chapter then I'm going up." He withdrew a skinny paperback novel from his back pocket and Lorelai rolled her eyes. It was like having Rory back for a second.

"Alright! But don't let it spoil your memories of Rocky II." And with that, she disappeared upstairs.

Jess silently waited. He heard her door close, then open again as she went into the bathroom. Several minutes later the bathroom door opened and Jess strained to hear Lorelai's bedroom door close once more. Then he waited. After fifteen minutes of silence coming from upstairs, Jess surmised it was finally safe to make his move.

He placed a quiet call to a cab company then went upstairs and into his room where he found his sneakers, a jacket and his wallet. Carefully, he opened his door and peered in to the darkened hallway. He wished he could move without his cumbersome damned crutches – he'd tried on several occasions. But it was still too painful without them. Pushing aside his irritation and listening for any sounds from Lorelai's room, Jess quietly shut his door and made his way downstairs. He turned on the small table lamp in the TV room then switched off the main lights downstairs.

Ever so quietly, Jess grabbed the spare front door key from the glass bowl on the hall table and pocketed it. Then he opened the door, eased himself out into the night and closed it carefully behind him. His pulse started to quicken as his mind turned to his tasks that night. Nothing too drastic, he'd decided. Just enough to let certain people know that they didn't mess with the wrong people. And it would also be darned amusing. Jess hadn't let his hair down in a long time. Living with Luke, he had become decidedly domesticated and it felt good to have just a little of the old Jess back.

The cab was waiting for him around the corner and Jess was relieved when he saw it there. Jess had assumed that it would be safer meeting there than right outside the house as he hadn't been certain the driver wouldn't do anything stupid like honk the horn. . Step one was now underway.

He climbed in to the back and if the driver was at all suspicious of why he was meeting a teenage boy on a street corner at half ten at night then he didn't say so. "Where to?" he asked in a weary tone that spoke of a long shift with an even longer time to go.

"Independence Inn," Jess answered. "And I'll need you to wait for me there. I won't be too long." Silently, Jess hoped he had enough cash in his wallet to allow for waiting time. Luke had given him an emergency supply before he'd left and so far, Jess had had no need to touch it. It _should_ be enough, he decided.

Sighing, the cabbie nodded and pulled away. Jess smirked to himself as he watched the night pass by outside his window. Finding out where Jenkins was staying had been easy and not hard if he'd had to guess. When you were coming in from out of town and doing work for a hotel, there would be no other logical place for the man to be. Jess shifted a little in the cab as his leg began to twinge. He realised then that he didn't have his pain medication and willed his body not to betray him – to trip him at the last hurdle. No, Jess thought grimly. He was in no condition to take Jenkins to task himself. But there were certainly _other ways_ to make his displeasure known…

* * *

When Jess hobbled back to Lorelai's front door, his mind was buzzing. Grateful he had enough money to pay the cab driver, Jess had asked to be dropped off in the same place he was picked up. His leg was mercifully doing little else beside the occasional twinge but Jess knew the added walking he was doing was not helping it.

Slipping out the spare key, Jess quietly let himself in and shut the door with great care.

"_Jess_!"

"Whoa!" He couldn't help the startled exclamation as he spun around, his back plastered against the front door. Jess grimaced when he saw Lorelai standing at the bottom of the staircase, wrapped in her dressing gown. Her expression did not appear to be amused.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded, taking a few steps closer to him, her hands firmly on her hips. Jess glanced down at the floor and shifted a little awkwardly.

"I just needed some air," he mumbled, cursing his perpetual bad luck. Liz was always dead to the world at this time of night: trust Lorelai not to be.

Lorelai's incredulous expression renewed his grimace. "_Get some air_?" she repeated, her voice rising further. "Jess, it is the _middle of the night_. You have a curfew for a reason! And you have been gone a damned site longer than it takes to 'get some air'." She fixed him with a pointed glare and Jess tried to look annoyed but he wasn't quite pulling it off.

"I checked on you _an hour ago_," she insisted, firmly. "Now where have you been?"

Jess dug his hands into his jeans pockets and tried to look away from her. "Just out," he mumbled, willing the interrogation to be over.

"No, Jess," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "In my house, teenagers do _not_ sneak out in the middle of the night and come back gone midnight and _certainly_ not without an explanation." She paused for a moment to look at him, carefully. "I was worried about you, Jess." She watched a moment of guilt flash in to his eyes. "I didn't know if you were okay or hurt, or what." She sighed as the boy in-front of her seemed to lose his arrogant bravado. Her voice was quieter as she continued. "Where did you go?"

Jess looked up at her. "Luke's," he answered. "I was looking for some music." She ran a speculative eye over him.

"I can't see any CDs on you."

Jess shrugged, awkwardly. "I couldn't find what I was looking for."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and walked closer until she was standing almost toe to toe with him. She tilted her head to one side as her inquisitive eyes seemed to scrutinise Jess, carefully. "Where _else_ did you go?" she asked. "I don't buy that you were at Luke's for all that time."

Jess wished he could side-step her as he certainly couldn't back up any further. His brain scrambled for an excuse. Finally he found one. "I was meaning to come back here," he insisted, "but I ended up at the bridge and I just lost track of time."

"Did you walk all the way there?" she suddenly demanded. Jess cursed silently. There was no way to get out of that one. Trying to appear meek, he nodded and heard her irritated exclamation.

"Damn it, Jess! You _know_ how Luke and I feel about that." Her glare made him shrink a little more. Eventually however, Lorelai sighed and took a step back, giving him some breathing room.

"Were you smoking?" she asked. Jess schooled his face into a guilty grimace and shrugged. Lorelai sighed again and shook her head. "Drinking?" she demanded, more sharply.

Jess shook his head. Smoking, he knew she would forgive but he wasn't setting himself up for worse! "No," he insisted. "I just needed a little head space." He paused. "I'm sorry. You know – sorry I worried you." The toe of his good leg absently shuffled the carpet.

Finally, he saw Lorelai sigh and a rueful smile play across her lips. "Well," she announced, "it's not like I can ground you with one day left, is it?" Jess didn't answer but he sure hoped not. But luckily, Lorelai was looking at him with a mixture of fond exasperation. "Go to bed," she commanded. "And this time, do not move from there till morning."

Gratefully, Jess nodded and pushed himself away from the door as he headed past Lorelai and up the stairs. The woman watched him go and shook her head, fondly. She'd done her own share of sneaking out as a teenager and Rory had so far failed to follow in those footsteps. It was probably karma that decreed she should experience a teenage sneak-out from the _parental_ end of the deal. Switching out the lights, she then made her own way back to bed before the morning approached all too quickly.

* * *

Last three periods on Friday afternoon were always PE. Normally, Jess loathed it. Physical activity, he could handle. But team sports? With the exception of the odd game of basketball, Jess couldn't abide them. Lately, however, Jess _loved_ PE for the simple reason that he couldn't participate. Normally he was allowed to disappear into the library but on that particular afternoon the new computer catalogue system was being installed and the library closed to students.

The faculty, not wanting him roaming loose in school and the PE coach not wanting him causing trouble on the bleachers, had reluctantly agreed that Jess could go home. Of course, they all still assumed that 'home' was Luke's diner across the street and Jess was in no hurry to correct them. It was the first time that Jess had felt anything _positive_ towards _any_ member of staff.

Remembering to give a quick call to the receptionist at the Inn, with a message for Lorelai that he would see her back at the house, Jess happily left the building. He was secretly impressed with his thoughtfulness at leaving the message – Luke would have been pleased, he mused.

The journey back to Lorelai's was as awkward as she had warned him it would be and Jess popped two pills in his mouth as soon as he got in. He frowned as he turned the TV on and flopped down onto the couch. Jess hated it when adults had a point.

"Jess!" He heard her call from the couch as the front door opened and felt a little apprehensive at the edge to it. Was she annoyed he'd walked home?

"Jess? Turn the television off, please. I want to talk to you."

Carefully, he did as she asked and she immediately pointed back to the couch. Hesitantly, Jess sat. Lorelai was looking aggrieved. Her mouth was set in a firm line and a frown, bordering on a scowl, marred her forehead. There seemed to be an energy about her that Jess hadn't seen in quite some time.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"Jess, Sam didn't come in to work this morning."

"You know you need to wait twenty-four hours before filing a report."

"Don't get smart with me, Jess!" she snapped. Her eyes were hard and disappointed. "Last night, somebody emptied a bag of waste, including _fish entrails_ and God knows what else, all over the inside of his car and put a scratch in the door." Jess didn't look up from his hands. "Then they let the air out of his tyres and _then_ – and this is the best bit, Jess – they broke the lock off his glove-compartment and took the receipt from _our dinner_ at Le Chez and then _faxed it_ to his wife!" She paused to take a deep breath and Jess was surprised to hear it shaking.

He glanced up at her and winced at just how angry – no, furious – she was. The guy was a total jerk! All things considered, given what he'd done to her, he'd gotten off lightly. And to be honest, the door-scratch had been an accident anyway – just not one he was going to regret.

But Lorelai didn't seem to see it that way. She was looking at him with such bitter disappointment that it suddenly made Jess ache from the inside out. Her expression reminded him of the _old_ Lorelai – the one he had first pissed off when he came to town, the one who hated his guts.

He watched, a crushing sensation building in his heart, as she shook her head in disbelief. "I just can't believe that you would _do that_." She practically spat the words out and the overwhelming knowledge that he had apparently disappointed her so badly was surprisingly painful. Jess couldn't look at her any more. He pressed his lips together tightly as she continued. "_Why_?"

Jess bit his tongue and twisted his hands together in his lap. His jaw worked as he tried to answer: everything he wanted to say to defend himself sounded hollow and stupid in the light of her moral outrage. "He hurt you."

"_So_?" she demanded. Again, he flinched. "Jess, I'm a big girl and I can take care of my own problems! If I was unhappy with Sam's behaviour then I can tell my employer, or settle it with him personally and if I was _really_ unhappy with him then I can file a police report! I do not need you to _break the law_ for me!"

She began pacing the living room, leaving Jess feeling trapped and small on the couch. "I just don't believe you. After _all_ Luke's done for you! After all the time and effort that man has put into showing you the right way and the wrong way to handle your problems and _this_ is how you repay him?! Does he mean _that little_ to you?"

At that accusation, Jess couldn't help the tears that stung his eyes, threatening to fall. Luke meant the world to him – the man was literally all Jess had. He would do nearly anything for Luke. Luke wasn't here to protect Lorelai; _he was_. Didn't she see? He did this _for_ Luke? For _her_.

"This isn't a game, Jess. This isn't the movies. You don't just go round breaking in to people's cars, causing criminal damage, invading their _personal lives_. I don't even want to _know_ how you got his home fax number. My _God_!" She paused, partly to get breath and partly to let her angry words sink in with him. "Listen to me very carefully, Jess: I do not need you to commit felonies for me. There _is_ no excuse. Do you understand me, young man?" Her words were slow and punctuated and demanded his attention.

Jess nodded. He couldn't speak – he didn't trust his voice. Jess' gut felt like it had gone a round in the ring with Rocky Balboa and his heart was beating heavy in his chest. He blinked, furiously trying to hold back the tears. How did she make him feel this way? Why couldn't he just let her cutting words wash over him like they used to? He felt heavy with shame and he just couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"What does he think happened?" Jess hesitantly ventured. The ensuing silence from Lorelai unnerved him. It lasted just long enough for him to risk a look up at her. The young woman was leaning against the banister of the staircase. She looked tired, as if her own anger was wearing her out. She had her head bowed to her chest and for the first time Jess noticed that, mixed in with the anger was sadness and a touch of regret. Was that regret at bringing him home? Probably.

Finally, she looked up and said: "He didn't say. He just high-tailed it out of here. He didn't call the police." She allowed herself a half laugh. "Maybe it's not the first time something like this has happened to him."

"You didn't tell him?" he asked, quietly.

She levelled him with a pointed glare: "What do _you think_, Jess?" The boy glanced down again as Lorelai folded her arms tightly across her chest and tried to take deep, calming breaths.

"Still," Lorelai continued, in a quieter but no less meaningful voice, "he's gone and with him goes the business pitch for the Norwegians that we have to submit by six o'clock this evening." That was the final punch to the stomach. Jess swallowed hard as he felt his face burn. _How_ had he managed to screw up so royally when he was only trying to defend the first woman to show him what a mother could be? It wasn't for Luke that he'd done this, Jess realised. It wasn't even for Lorelai or for Rory – it was for _himself_. God! He really _was_ as selfish as everybody said.

He bit his bottom lip to stop it trembling. She _would not_ see him break. Lorelai watched the young man before her. She was still angry, she was still disappointed but looking at him now, she knew: something had shifted between the two of them, something had grown and no matter what he did, she could never hate him. It was hard enough staying angry at him. The boy made her want to scream sometimes and slap him at other times but beneath it all was always the urge to take him in her arms and fix whatever was wrong, to tell him that everything was going to be okay.

But not tonight. Tonight she was worn out and depressed and just wanted to nurse the loss of what could have been a fantastic business opportunity. And all because she'd adopted a boy who didn't know how to show someone you cared.

"Go to your room." Her command wasn't shouted but Jess still couldn't have obeyed any faster, given his condition. He nearly leapt out of his seat and scrambled past her as quickly as he could, desperate to be in the privacy of his temporary room.

When Lorelai heard his bedroom door slam shut, she let out a weary sigh, rubbed her hands over her face, not caring if she smudged her mascara and walked heavily to the kitchen to make herself a cup of consoling coffee.

* * *

Right! That's it for now, folks. Thank-you to everyone who has made it this far. I really hope you enjoyed it. I realise people may have wanted more drama or a bigger show-down and I'm sorry I couldn't deliver it. But I'm trying hard to keep the events as realistic as possible (I know – a break from the norm, for me!) and I tried to imagine what could realistically happen. I'm not sure how well I succeeded on that front, but hey-ho, we have to try ;-)

I'm imagining only one more chapter to go now and I shall try to make a start on it tonight. Unfortunately, real life is hurling some irritating problems at me lately and it is taking up a lot of my time! Darn it But as I enjoy escaping with Jess, I shall do my best to carve some writing time out of my evening.

Please let me know what you think of the chapter, if you get a chance. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

Knight in Shining Hair Gel – Chapter 6

Standard disclaimer applies

A/N – Thank you all SO much for your very kind reviews. They've really helped to keep me writing. My writing time is quickly drawing to a close but if I have time for more, then I will. More on that at the end of the chapter. I hope people enjoy this offering.

* * *

The television gently hummed in the background. It was some kind of lifestyles of the rich and famous show: Lorelai had actually lost track of it. She seemed to recall a crime drama when she'd first switched on, searching for an escape from her own pitiful thoughts but as the evening wore on, one programme had blurred into the next.

A glass of red wine perched on the arm of her couch. She really ought to move it. It was an accident waiting to happen and not one of those that she could easily hide with a cushion or a rug, either. She snorted, sardonically. That appeared to be the story of her life that night.

Eying the glass mutinously, Lorelai reached over and picked it up by the stem. It tipped precariously for a second as the red liquid sloshed a little too close to the brim but she righted it, just in time. Taking a deep sip, Lorelai exhaled into the glass before placing it carefully down on the coffee table in front of her. It rested next to the Norwegian box-file, full to the brim with a week's worth of redundant notes. She felt a strong temptation to tip the glass and its contents right over it.

The evening was likely to pass in much the same fashion, she mused. She had spent the first half an hour watching the clock then watching her phone, waiting for the outraged call from work to tell her the Norwegians and had all stormed out of talks in high dudgeon, that she was being held personally accountable. There was no-one, with the exception perhaps of Sookie, who had connected Sam's departure with her and even more importantly, with Jess, but everyone knew, the buck stopped squarely on her shoulders. But, so far, the call hadn't come and eventually, Lorelai had stopped watching the phone and started staring at her wine glass instead.

She found her thoughts drifting up the stairs to fix on Jess, the unwitting orchestrator of her demise. He was still in his room and the way she was feeling right then, Luke would be _collecting him_ from his room the next morning. Lorelai felt another sharp pang at her daughter's absence. Rory was coming home on Sunday but she missed being able to lean on her for consolation. _What_ she was going to do when Rory went to college, she didn't know.

But Jess couldn't stay up there all night, a nagging voice told her. He still needed to eat. The take-out menus were still stuck to the fridge door but they didn't seem appropriate now. Dinner with her parents had mercifully been cancelled. The absence of Rory alone would not have been enough to spare her the dubious pleasure. But looking after Jess, had resolutely clinched the deal with Emily, during a phone call that week. Lorelai smiled. Norwegians or not, she would _always_ be indebted to him for that.

She sighed. Eventually, Lorelai realised, she was going to have to have a proper conversation with the young man. Not one that involved shouting and berating. Jess had been so wounded by her reaction. She hadn't anticipated anything more than a sulk and a scowl. Well maybe, she considered, that wasn't entirely true: she had expected him to be genuinely sorry. He really wasn't that bad of a kid, deep down and she had always known that Jess had a difficult time expressing himself. But not _hurt_: she didn't think he could be hurt by it.

Lorelai ran her fingers through her brown curls and tugged gently at the roots, trying to stimulate a little life back into her. She rose from the couch and carried her wine glass to the kitchen. It had only been a glass but it was not the time to be wallowing in alcohol, however much she felt it was justified. The last mouthful was poured down the sink and she rinsed the glass out, placing it upside down to drain.

Absently, Lorelai opened the fridge and stared inside. There was some left-over salad from a previous dinner. She eyed the rocket leaves appraisingly. They looked how she felt and Lorelai quickly tipped the soggy, limp mess into the trash. The other shelves looked stark and bare: a jar of pickles, a tub of mayonnaise, half a loaf.

"Ugh!" she groaned aloud to herself. Lorelai tried to remember the last time she had been grocery shopping and could only conclude that whenever it was, it was well over-due. Then, she recalled Luke's fridge and felt momentarily stupid. It was filled to bursting with all manner of food. The astute man had never been foolish enough to think his nephew was going to cook for himself while he was away and when faced with an uncertainty, was always in the habit of over-compensating.

She grabbed her purse and her car keys as she passed by the front door, briefly wondering if she should call up the stairs to tell Jess she was going out. But a moment later, she had left the house, having decided not to. She would talk to him over dinner, try to smooth things over. As she backed her car out of her drive, Lorelai suddenly thought about Jess' deep-rooted abandonment and self-worth issues. A little guilt snaked its way inside her and she sincerely hoped he didn't read anything in to it.

* * *

Having cleared Luke's fridge of potato-salad, coleslaw, chicken thighs, fresh salad and a couple of apple pies, Lorelai had loaded up her car and quickly driven home. The last thing she wanted to do was run in to someone from work. She couldn't handle the guilt. Her phone still sat on the coffee table and deep down, Lorelai knew she should have taken it with her but right now she was content to be a coward for a little while longer. True, she couldn't hide from her problems for ever. Just till Monday.

When she got home, Lorelai set about unpacking the food in the kitchen and fishing out plates and cutlery from the drawers. She hesitantly glanced at her watch and released a shaky breath when she registered the time: twenty minutes past six. The deadline was finally past. She paused a moment to take stock of her feelings. Surprisingly, knowing it was fait accompli made the whole situation a little easier to bear.

She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and some of the turmoil in her gut started to calm itself. What's done was done. And there would be other deals coming her way eventually. True, this one was an annoying set-back but the Inn's good reputation and her excellent staff would see them through this. There was bound to be another opportunity like this again.

For the first time that day, Lorelai felt herself smile. Today may have sucked, but tomorrow would be better and whatever the final outcome, Lorelai now knew she had a young man on her side who was _very_ protective of her. True, he needed to work on his tactics a little and her irritation with him still niggled inside her. But his concern was…_touching_.

A soft glow was emanating from her phone, showing her she had a message. Lorelai took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and went to retrieve it. Her worries were upheld: a missed call followed by a short text message from Michel – _Call work_. Lorelai felt her heart begin to beat faster. Her optimistic attitude of just a few minutes ago was struggling in the face of actually dealing with her problems.

But there was no sense in delaying the inevitable and her weekend would be ruined with this phone call hovering over her. So, she dialled and waited with trembling breaths to be connected to her concierge. Her fingers tapped out a steady rhythm on her thighs as the phone rang for a third time. Finally, the cultured French accent of Michel greeted her.

"Hey, Michel. It's me." She took a deep, steadying breath. "Just returning your call." Then her eyes widened. "Say that again!" she demanded. She sank down on to the couch and could only listen, open-mouthed as Michel talked.

* * *

Lorelai knocked lightly on the door and then let it slowly swing open. Jess was sitting at the head of the bed, his school books spread around him. He looked up as she entered and Lorelai wondered if his eyes were redder than before. But she didn't press the issue. Instead, she walked in and shut the door and stood, looking at him silently. Jess glanced up at her again. She didn't look cross but there was an ambiguous expression on her face that he couldn't quite read.

Wordlessly, Lorelai walked over to one side of the bed and indicated that Jess should move over with a nudge of her head. The teenager rolled his eyes but nevertheless did as she wanted. Picking up a book that was in her way, Lorelai sat down next to Jess with an over-exaggerated flop, making the bed bounce. Jess frowned and scooted a little further away from her. He looked across at her, waiting for her to speak.

"So, do you want to hear something funny?" Lorelai suddenly asked, folding her arms across her chest. Uncertainly, Jess gave a small shrug. "I'm super-human," she announced, lightly. She was watching him, a little curiously, her eyes searching something out. When Jess made no response, Lorelai realised she would be doing most of the talking. Well, she decided, that was okay.

"I mean, don't get me wrong: I always knew I could walk through walls and shoot lasers from my eyes and spot toupees at a hundred paces." She watched as a small corner of Jess' mouth lifted into a smile for a second. His eyes were fixed on the book in his lap though Lorelai knew he wasn't reading it.

"But this is something new. Apparently, not _only_ can I suddenly write unbelievably brilliant sales-pitches but I can do them without even _knowing_ about it!" She stared at the boy even harder and Jess responded by boring an even deeper hole in the book with his gaze. She gave him a nudge with her elbow and Jess glanced over to her quickly, his expression still wary. He looked away again, but Lorelai had a smile creeping over her face. "How cool is _that_?" she demanded, innocently. "_And_ do you want to know an even _cooler_ part? Do you, Jess? I can fax them from my home machine while _driving_ _in my car_! Isn't that amazing?"

She paused for a second. "Yup. Michel rang me. The Norwegians were apparently very impressed with the eloquently surmised proposal that I faxed through to the Inn at around half five today and Michel was wondering how on earth I managed it. I asked him to send me through a copy which puzzled him even further as I, of course, had the original." She gave Jess a wink. "Don't worry," she told him, "Michel already _knows_ I have special powers. He's just helping me preserve my cover."

Finally, she saw Jess turn to face her. Very quietly, he asked: "They liked it?"

At that, Lorelai grinned and nodded. "They _loved_ it. The Independence Inn is now the proud hosts of the Norwegian Pharmacists Annual Conference." She watched Jess smile then take up his book, his body-language clearly uncertain whether he wanted her to stay or go.

From her pocket, Lorelai withdrew a piece of paper and un-folded it, shaking her head in amazement. She tried to catch Jess' eye but he wouldn't look at her. "You _wrote_ this?" she asked, incredulously. Jess shrugged, awkwardly, still not answering her. But Lorelai wasn't done. "This is beautiful work, Jess! It's _amazing_. You did all this in an _hour_?"

"It had to be done before six," he offered.

Lorelai was almost lost for words. This boy amazed her sometimes. "You took the file from the coffee table?" She watched Jess tense and immediately assured him, "I'm not mad – just curious." Jess nodded.

"You went to the bathroom," he explained. "I left the box-file, just took the contents." He bowed his head. "Figured you wouldn't be looking at them."

She laughed, lightly. "Yeah, you were right about that one." Then she shook her head once more in amazement. "You described the Inn, our offer, _everything_ so well. You couldn't have got it all from the file?" Her question was rewarded by a more Jess-like reaction as he rolled his eyes.

"You've told me all about this conference _all week_," he pointed out, "and you're _forever_ going on about the Inn." Lorelai opened her mouth to object but then closed it again with a self-indulgent smile.

"I didn't know you were listening."

Jess frowned. "It wasn't by _choice_," he assured her. "It was just impossible to avoid all of it."

Lorelai laughed again. "It took Sam a _week_ of meetings, interviews and an ivy-school education and a seventeen-year-old kid does it in an hour with a page of notes." She fixed Jess with a sincere look. "_Thank you_," she said emphatically, turning to face him and tucking one leg under her. Jess shifted on the bed his hands itching to open his books again. He clearly did not react well to praise, had not had enough experience accepting it without question.

Well, Lorelai decided, he was just going to have to be uncomfortable for a little while longer. "Jess. I still don't approve of how you handled the situation with Sam." Jess looked away from her, ready to receive another lecture. But instead, Lorelai leaned forwards and cupped a gentle hand round his cheek, guiding his eyes to meet her. "But thank you for watching out for me. And for everything you did today." And with that, she withdrew her hand from his cheek and instead wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in closer.

The teenager stiffened and started to pull back but when she didn't let him go, Jess reluctantly relaxed a little and allowed the hug to continue for a moment more. In that brief moment, Jess soaked up Lorelai's warmth, her comfort and her forgiveness. Jess had become accustomed when growing up to snatch up as much comfort from tiny gestures as he could, like desert plants soaking up rare, sporadic rainfall.

When he gently pushed Lorelai away a moment later, she let him go and smiled at him.

"So," she announced, leaning back against the head of the bed, "it's been an interesting week."

Jess, now more visibly relaxed, though still wanting his bed back, nodded. "Are you going to tell Luke?"

"Oooh," Lorelai drawled. She let out a hefty sigh. "Well, there's no police report heading his way and I don't need him to reimburse me your bail money or anything." She paused to consider and, even though Jess could sense the levity behind her words, he still found himself holding his breath as he waited for the axe to fall.

"Okay," she announced. "If he challenges me directly, I'm not going to lie. But I will attempt to be…_creative_ in my responses."

Jess grinned, his lop-sided grin. "Thanks."

"Well," Lorelai suddenly announced. "I'm hungry. If you would care to come downstairs, then dinner awaits." Jess gave her a curious look: he'd seen the contents of the fridge as clearly as she had.

"I raided Luke's fridge," she explained, sliding off the bed.

Jess followed suit, scooting to the edge and using his crutches to hoist himself up. His eyes narrowed. "You didn't get the blue tub, did you?" he asked suspiciously. "Because only Luke touches that – it has beans and proteins and other stuff that only a health nut would eat."

But Lorelai shook her head as she led the way downstairs. "Nope: calories and carbs all the way, my boy."

And as they both settled round the table, exchanging easy barbs and banter between them, Jess couldn't help but feel a little amazed: amazed that he had survived four days with Lorelai Gilmore and just a little resigned that it was all coming to an end.

* * *

Okay folks – time is against me and marches on too quickly! In order to get this story as finished as it can be, I'm posting this now. I had originally only planned on going to the end of Lorelai and Jess' time together which is why I'm posting here but if I can get out an epilogue of Luke's return then I will try to post that tomorrow.

Thank you for reading to this chapter and I really hope you enjoyed it.


	7. Chapter 7

Knight in Shining Hair Gel – The Extra Bits!

Standard disclaimer applies

A/N – not sure if this really even _counts_ as an epilogue or just as a very late night when I should have been trying to sleep Either way, I really hope people enjoy this and thank you for your lovely reviews (esp thanks to _Nancy_ for your kind review for Chapter 5 – I'm sorry I couldn't reply to you).

By the way, there is something in this chapter that specifically relates to the _Fire and Ice_-verse and even a bit of _Watchers_ so I'm sorry if it causes confusion for those who haven't read them.

* * *

Luke smiled in relief as he finally pulled his truck up outside his diner. The airport hadn't been too bad but the traffic coming home had been a nightmare. There was very little more frustrating than a two-mile tail-back from construction work only to have no-one working at the site! The day was warm and sunny but not oppressively so and Luke was very glad to be back in Connecticut weather. He _really_ didn't do muggy and Orlando, even in April, had just about finished him off.

Leaning over to the passenger seat, Luke picked up his bag and gratefully climbed out onto the sidewalk. His diner stood before him in the same state he'd left it in – at least, as far as the eye could see. Luke popped in to say hello to Caesar in the kitchen before heading upstairs to see Jess and unpack. Through-out his time sorting out Uncle Louie's affairs, Luke had been half-expecting a call from Lorelai to say that she had buried the boy under the patio or sold him to a caravan of slave-traders. Though God knows, Jess would make a terrible slave.

Hopefully no news was good news. It would certainly be nice if Jess gained another ally in Stars Hollow though Luke already knew his friend had a soft-spot for the young trouble-maker.

Luke carefully made his way up the stairs to his apartment, legs still stiff from the flight and the drive. As he fumbled with his key in the lock, he tried to anticipate the bombshell of the apartment after a teenager had been loose in it for four days. Lorelai was under no obligation to make the boy pick up after himself and, left unsupervised, it may take a small hazmat team to rectify the damage Jess had done!

He was most surprised then to open the door to reveal a near spotless apartment. Cautiously, as though trouble was hiding in the closet waiting to spring out at him, Luke set his bag down by the door. "Hello?" he called out, shutting the door. "Jess?" The bathroom door was open, the room on the other side empty and, unless Jess was crouching down behind the kitchen counter (which would have been difficult in his condition) then the place was definitely unoccupied.

Curious now, Luke inspected Jess' bed and drawers. The bed was made and some of his clothes were gone. A moment of panic gripped him until logic took over. If Jess had taken off, for whatever reason, Lorelai would have called him. Unless Lorelai was in on it? No, he stopped himself. He was being ridiculous!

Walking purposefully to the house-phone, Luke dialled Lorelai's number and waited for his best friend to pick up. As he waited, an envelope on the door mat that he had previously walked right over, suddenly caught his eye. The envelope was hand-written, the script familiar and instantly Luke's pulse began to quicken in anticipation.

* * *

"Jess?"

A clatter sounded from upstairs, shortly followed by a light thud.

"Jess? You okay?"

Lorelai strained to listen, wondering if she should check it out personally.

"Yeah! came the irritated answer. "_Fine_."

She smiled, hoping whatever fell and crashed was a hideously ugly ex-Christmas present, scattered around the house in strategic places. "Well get a move on," she called. "Luke just rang and I'm dropping you back at your place. Five minutes – get your butt moving."

After an appropriate amount of grumbling, Jess finally emerged on the stairs. "You realise," he grumbled as he descended the stairs, "that it would be a lot easier to move around here if your house wasn't so full of crap."

Lorelai gasped. "But the crap is what gives the crap-shack its name! This is practically a listed building, my friend." Jess rolled his eyes. "Now tell me," she said as she slung his bag over her shoulder, "was it the pottery blue pig?" Jess shook his head and carried on walking past her. "With the umbrella? C'mon Jess – try to remember, the blue pig?"

"You're insane," Jess muttered, already out of the front door and heading towards the car.

Lorelai threw her hands up in the air. "Ah, come on, Mariano! We _talked_ about this." She locked up the front door and followed him to the car. "Aim for the pig. I clearly told you: _aim for the pig_."

"Nothing is _broken_!" Jess snapped. "Will you please just open the doors so I can escape the Twilight Zone with just a modicum of sanity still intact?"

Lorelai grinned, unlocked the car and they both climbed in. "No-one escapes the Twilight Zone, Jess. That's the point of it. And as you so spectacularly _failed_ to follow your very simple orders and kill the blue pig, you may well be coming back to complete your mission when I see fit to summon you."

She pulled the car out of the drive. "Just break it yourself," Jess sighed.

But Lorelai shook her head in disapproval. "_Jess_. You have a lot to learn about unwanted Christmas gifts: some day you will understand what I'm trying to teach you." She watched with a grin as Jess rolled his eyes once more and stared out of his window for the rest of the ride to Luke's.

* * *

The diner wasn't too busy, which was a little surprising for a Saturday, but it gave Luke the chance to meet with Lorelai and Jess in the apartment without feeling guilty about leaving his staff in the lurch downstairs.

When Jess had let himself in, Luke had been there to greet them both as they came through. He had quickly taken Jess' bag from Lorelai and then enveloped the young woman into a strong hug. Mildly surprised at his initiation of physical contact, Lorelai had nonetheless smiled and returned the gesture, holding Luke closely.

If she sensed something more to it then she didn't say. His face next to her ear, Luke mumbled: "Are you okay?" She frowned, puzzled.

"I'm fine," she assured him. Then gave him one final squeeze. "I'm _fine_," she repeated, softly. And Luke nodded and then released her, his eyes holding hers gently for just a moment longer. She smiled up at him: a bright, fresh visage.

As this was going on, Jess had taken up his bag and moved off to his bed, unpacking by emptying it over the mattress. Luke now walked up to him while Lorelai set about making some coffee and sat down on the bed beside him. Jess gave him a suspicious sideways look. If you wanted to sit down next to him you did it with a damned good reason.

Luke spoke very quietly. He didn't look over at Jess, which the boy found odd. "I saw Sookie downstairs before you guys arrived," he said. Warily, Jess nodded. His uncle still stared down at his knees, weighing up his words. "She told me about some…stuff, while I was away." Jess immediately tensed but again, he just nodded. Luke took a deep breath. "Where is he now?"

"Massachusetts."

Luke nodded once. "Is it dealt with?"

He didn't look over at Jess, but he felt his nephew nod, silently. Then Luke stood up and clapped him once on the shoulder. "Good to have you home, Jess," he announced loudly. "I'm glad to see the two of you haven't hatched any plots to overthrow the town while I've been away or anything."

Lorelai laughed from the kitchen as the water finished boiling. "We wouldn't do anything without _you_, Luke."

"And I'm so very touched. Really."

"Aww," Lorelai cooed at him. "My _little minion_." Luke rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation as he went to join her in the kitchen.

"Huh!" she gasped on seeing his reaction. "You're _just like Jess_!"

"Stop that," Luke sighed.

"It's so _sweet_!"

Now Jess growled at her from his bed. "Could you _not_?"

Lorelai laughed. "Are you having a coffee, Jess?" Luke glanced at her in mild surprise. That was about to be _his_ question to the kid. Maybe Jess and Lorelai got along better than he thought.

"No thanks," Jess replied. "I'm reading my book and pretending none of this is happening."

"Okay then," she smiled. "Luke? You still take sugar?"

"I've never taken sugar."

"Alrighty!" she beamed, holding out a cup to him as he moved around the counter to stand next to her. "Coffee is served."

"Thanks," Luke told her, quietly, taking the mug with both hands. "I really appreciate you taking him. He was really okay?"

She nodded, sipping her own drink. "He was fine, Luke. Let's just say we understand each other." They both watched as Jess suddenly pushed himself up from the bed and slid the paperback into his back pocket.

"I'm going to the bridge," he announced, grabbing his crutches.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Like _that_?"

Jess flipped him a look as he passed by. "I'd normally change in to my costume but it's at the cleaners." His uncle sighed but didn't have the energy to argue. Instead, he just waved him on.

"Don't fall in," he admonished. "Or annoy anyone."

Jess just shook his head as he left the two adults alone though before the door closed, they could just make out his muttered, sarcastic: "Well, _gee_ – now that you've taken the _fun_ out of it…"

Luke took a deep breath and smiled, weakly. "If he's not back in an hour, I'll check in with Taylor. I think the man has him under permanent surveillance." Lorelai smiled but she could sense there was something else distracting her friend.

"You okay?" she asked, leaning against the counter. Luke looked surprised for a fraction of a second before he remembered that this was Lorelai and he should know by now, not to be surprised with anything pertaining to her. Wordlessly, he pulled out the envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.

Lorelai looked at it, guardedly. "Who's it from?" she asked, hesitantly taking out the letter. The fact that Luke had waited until Jess was out of earshot was making her a little worried.

"Liz," Luke answered, going some way to confirming her suspicions. He watched her guards go up and immediately smiled, shaking his head. "It's not like that," he assured her.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows, frozen in the act of unfolding the letter as she pinned Luke down with a challenging look. "Oh _really_?" she demanded. "So this isn't yet another impulsive and somewhat reckless decision on her part meant to throw her son's life in to even more turmoil, then?"

Luke's response was both a wince and a smirk. "In a way," he conceded then chuckled to himself like telling a one-sided joke.

His friend batted him in the middle of the chest. "So why on _earth_ are you so happy about it, Luke?"

"Because she's signing sole physical custody over to me."

Lorelai's mouth hung open for a moment before she hastily opened the letter and scanned its contents. Luke watched her eyes roaming the page and held his breath, waiting for her response. Since reading the letter on his arrival, he had barely taken a moment to let the news sink in. But now, sharing it with someone else, it made it seem even more real.

Finally, Lorelai looked up and grinned. She shook her head, still glancing back at the letter every now and then. "I knew you guys were _talking_ about it but I didn't think she'd actually do it." She lightly hugged Luke. "How do you feel?"

He released her and took a step back, running his hands through his hair. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "There's a big part of me that feels I bullied her in to this."

"Do you want to take it back?"

"_No_." Luke shook his head, emphatically. "This is best for Jess – definitely. We both need that security. Liz is doing the right thing. Even if I _am_ wondering what I'm letting the kid and me in for! But I can't help feeling I'm taking Jess away from her."

Smiling, Lorelai folded up the letter, replaced it in its envelope and handed it back to Luke. "Well I'm happy for you, Luke, regardless. And I _know_ you'll do just great. I'm happy for Jess, too." She leaned up and gave Luke a warm kiss on the cheek. "Does Jess know anything about this?"

Luke shook his head. "I mean I guess we talked about things, you know…_theoretically_, a while back but he has no idea his mom and I have been talking. Liz can be so erratic about changing her mind – I didn't want to say anything until I was sure. I mean, it's not a done deal yet – I still need to sign papers and everything…" He suddenly stopped, his eyes uncertain.

"Do you think he'll be upset? I'm not going to force him in to anything…"

But Lorelai cut off his rambling, gently. "I think he'll be fine with it, Luke but you're going to have to talk to him. He's lucky to have you." She was rewarded with a bashful smile from her friend.

"I'll work out a way to tell him tonight. Or maybe tomorrow. I'm sure the right time will present itself."

Lorelai nodded and with one last gulp, finished up her coffee. For a moment there was silence between the two old friends as Luke tucked the letter safely away and then seemed to lose himself in his thoughts again. Lorelai pushed off from the counter and wandered over to the window where she stood for a minute, staring out. The townsfolk bustled about in their every day way. Kirk was trying to sell t-shirts of questionable authenticity on the street. Taylor was moving him on. Everything seemed…_right_ with the town. The sun shone brightly and its energy had seemingly infused the whole day.

Lorelai leaned against the glass and smiled. Then she spun round to face Luke. "There's an Alfred Hitchcock double-bill at the theatre tonight!" she suddenly announced. Luke blinked, once, at the abrupt new topic.

"Okaay," he said, slowly.

"So we should go." Clearly, she reasoned, Luke was being rather slow on the uptake.

"I have a diner to run."

"Caesar's doing it. He's fine. He _loves_ it. C'mon! You haven't been back in over _four days _and when Rory comes back tomorrow I'm going to be knee-deep in mother-daughter bonding time so today is our _last day_."

Luke opened his mouth, helplessly for a moment. Finally however, his shoulders sagged in defeat. She was like a locomotive, tunnelling through any objections he could make when she got like this. "When does it start?" he sighed.

Lorelai shrugged. "We'll find out when we get there. Come on! Let's go get the kid."

Luke gave her an incredulous look, followed by a slowly spreading grin. "He'll _hate that_."

Lorelai linked arms with him, grabbed her purse and gave Luke a wink. "I know! Let's make him sit between us." And as Luke locked up the apartment and headed downstairs, he laughed, in spite of himself.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it. I'm desperately trying to think of new ideas but my inspiration has well and truly dried up! If anyone sees my Muse, please send her back to me and tell her all is forgiven?


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